


The Stars at Night

by jongkey_krisho



Category: Great Guys | 멋진녀석들 (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Cameos of Target, Fluff, Happy Ending, High School AU, M/M, Romance, Siblings, Smut, Teenagers, The Kpop group not the store, friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24139444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho
Summary: Horyeong has spent his entire life growing up in Seoul, living in the tiny apartment with his parents and younger brother, Daun, but when they are uprooted to Jeju Island to live with their grandparents after his father lost his job senior year, that’s when he meets Donghwi, and chaos is soon to follow.Part of my "Expand Unknown Bands" Project
Relationships: Jeong Yeongki | Horyeong/Kim Donghyun | Donghwi, Kim Jinhyeon | Haneul/Jeon Mingi | Uiyeon, Lee Junghoon | Daun/Im Hahyeong | Jae I, Lee Youngjun | Dongin/Lee Daeyoung | Hwalchan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. The Tiny(?) Island of Jeju

**Author's Note:**

> So as part of the "Expand Unknown Bands" Project, I will be creating fanfics of small or unknown Korean groups to help spread recognition, and this is the first one! It will have slow updates compared to my other main fics, but I hope this story is to you guys' liking!

“Horyeong,” his mother yelled from the kitchen, purse in her hands. “Are all your boxes in the car?”

Horyeong looked at the now-empty room, the only two things occupying it being himself and the last box at his feet. “Yes, mother, I’m done.”

“Okay, remember we leave in five minutes, Daun is already waiting in the car.” She popped her head into the room, since Horyeong had left the door open. He saw no reason to close it, seeing how there wasn’t anything in the room anymore. “Remember to not forget anything.”

He shook his head, grabbing the semi-heavy box from the floor. “Nah, I’m ready to go, there isn’t anything here anyways.”

His mother entered the room, setting her arm on her son’s shoulder. “You’ll make great friends in Jeju, I promise you that.”

“Mom, I’m not worried about that.” He turned to leave the room, leaving his mother behind. “Let’s leave this tiny place all ready.”   
  


  
***

To say that he had been shocked when his father was a, well,  _ huge  _ understatement. 

His father had worked in the company, some logistics department of a technology company, for over  _ twenty years _ . Horyeong hadn’t even been born yet, much less his younger brother, Daun. His parents had just been married for merely three months when his dad got hired.

Sure, it may not have been the best position making them rich, but it still was enough to maintain a family of four in the bustling city of Seoul, South Korea. Their apartment was small, but Horyeong and Daun each had their own room, and they had no problems at the public schools they had gone to. 

And now his father’s job was gone. 

The company had been bought by a much larger one, and they had laid off a bunch of people in order to save costs, since the company had a reputation of giving much higher salaries to its people. Horyeong’s father had unfortunately been one of those workers suffering the layoff. 

His father had since tried to find a new job, but it was hard to find any open positions in Seoul. His mother had scoliosis so she wasn’t allowed to work, so when his dad found an open job in Jeju Island, he jumped at the first chance to have it, and now they were moving. 

Horyeong had surprisingly not been bothered by it; his father had to work somehow, and it’s not like Horyeong and Daun could do anything, they were just high schoolers. He would miss his friends, Seulchan and Zeth, but it’s not like he was leaving the country; heck, their country wasn’t even that big. Their lame Twitter group chat will be fine.

Right now, on the drive to Jeju (yes they were driving; Horyeong had never been on an airplane and he probably never will), his friends had been spamming the chat, asking Horyeong every five seconds if he was there yet. 

Zeth sent a message to the chat, showing a screenshot of his Minecraft game, where a horde of creepers had accidently destroyed parts of a house he had spent a week building.  _ LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO ME _

_ Shut ur dumb ass up,  _ Seulchan responded back, spamming the chat with loser memes. Horyeong did the quiet thing and responded with an F, and he turned his phone off. Those two would be roasting each other for the next few minutes. 

He looked at his brother, Daun, who was watching a music video. He had been quiet about this whole moving to Jeju ordeal, but that was Daun for you; he was always quiet in general. Horyeong liked to say that they were close, but he still had problems figuring out what the latter was thinking at times. 

Usually, they told each other everything, even if the other had made them mad about something. They confess to each other if they feel upset, either because of the other, their parents, or anything else in general, and they also stay true to their word, defending the latter. Horyeong had taken the blame for his brother multiple times, and Daun had done the same as well. 

However, Daun had never given him his opinion on their father’s unemployment status or the move. They weren’t the type to pry each other, so if Daun was going to tell him, all Horyeong had to do was be patient. 

Since they were squished by each other in the car (multiple boxes taking up free space), it was easy for Horyeong to get Daun’s attention. “Daun?"

His brother must have had the volume pretty high, since he made no response to having heard Horyeong. “Daun,” he repeated. 

Still no answer. 

Horyeong tapped his younger brother’s shoulder. Daun finally responded, taking off his earbud. “Are you excited for Jeju?”

Daun shrugged, putting his earbud back in. “It’s just a place.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to make friends?” Horyeong continued, seeing as Daun hadn’t put play on his video. A Seventeen music video, he noticed. Don’t ask Horyeong why he knew that. “Or will we be outcasts?”

Daun shrugged again. “I mean, you’re a senior, you don’t have much to worry about, just college.”

“A year is still a lot though,” Horyeong admitted. “And plus, we don’t know if I can go to college, so I might be stuck there for a long time.”

“What happened to you trying to find a scholarship?” Daun whispered, knowing that Horyeong didn’t like his parents hearing into this type of conversation; money was still a sore spot for his parents, especially the worry of having enough to send Horyeong to a higher education institution. 

“You know that still isn’t certain,” Horyeong admitted. “Let’s just hope school goes well.” 

Daun nodded, turning his attention back to his video. He didn’t put in his earbud, however, in case Horyeong still wanted to talk. “Let’s hope so.”

Horyeong grabbed his phone and turned the ringer back on, the latest notification being Zeth responding with a  _ eat a thousand tomatoes and die, you pruny motherfucker _ . He didn’t miss much. 

He turned off his phone again and stared out the window, wondering how life in Jeju would be like.

  
  


***

After a few hours in the car and a ferry ride to Jeju later, they finally pulled up in front of his grandparents house, his grandmother in the front lawn sitting on the porch. 

When she saw them, his grandmother stood up from her chair, waving excitedly to the car, which pulled up to the driveway. “You guys are here!! Welcome, welcome!!” 

Daun pulled out his earbuds, turning off his phone, Horyeong doing the same. 

His father got out of the car, running towards his mother. “Eomma, how’s life in Jeju?” he shouted, running to give his mother a hug.

She hugged him back tightly, the two murmuring the words that Horyeong couldn’t hear.

“Dude, get out of the car,” Daun whispered, kicking his older brother until Horyeong finally opened the car door to get out, Daun following after him. 

Horyeong’s mother also got out, running to give a hug to her mother-in-law. “It’s been so nice to finally see you! My, it’s been so long!”

Horyeong and Daun stood next to the car, looking at the scene quietly. They don’t remember the last time they saw their grandmother. 

Their grandmother, after exchanging greetings with their parents, finally noticed their presence. “Horyeong, Daun, it’s been so long!!”

They walked up to her slowly, Horyeong taking the initiative to hug her first. They may not know her well, but, well, it would be offensive to not greet her; she  _ was  _ giving them her home after all. “Halmeoni,” Horyeong sputtered out, being squeezed by his grandmother. “I don’t remember the last time I saw you-”

“Me neither, but thank god you guys are here, right?” She let go of him and pinched his cheeks. “And you’re so tall! The two of you!”

Horyeong grinned. One of the things that he had always been proud of was his height, a staggering six feet tall. Daun wasn’t a shortie either; he was five foot ten, but Horyeong liked being the taller, older brother. “We drank a lot of milk while we were young.”

“As you should be- oh, you must be Daun!” she said, turning her attention to Daun. She hugged him as tightly as she had with Horyeong, pinching his cheeks as well. 

Horyeong fought off the urge to smirk. His brother did  _ not  _ like skinship at all, but obviously, their grandmother wouldn’t know that. She would probably pick it up, though, very soon. 

When she finally let go of Daun, she led them towards her house. “Come in, come in guys! Make yourself at home.”   
  


  
***

Their grandmother had made them pork bellies for dinner, asking them questions from any topic or variety. She asked about Seoul, about any friends, any interests, if they were excited for school (apparently, it was starting in one week, so they would have plenty of time to settle in.) Their grandfather was visiting some friends at a nursing home, so they had yet to meet him, but they were surely going to be asked the same questions over again when he came back,

After helping clean the kitchen and dining room, their grandmother showed them where they were going to stay. Since they only had one guest room, that’s where Horyeong’s parents were going to be staying, leaving Horyeong and Daun to share…

The basement. 

Yeah, the basement. Weren’t those things creepy as fuck or something? Horyeong had never seen one, since he’s only visited Zeth or Seulchan’s apartments, but they weren’t exactly pleasant things, right?

The basement, it turned out, wasn’t  _ that  _ bad. Their grandparents apparently never used the basement, so it had been easy to clean it out and put the stuff in the garage. They laid some hardwood floorboards at one corner of the basement and added a curtain, plus some plaster wallpaper, so it didn’t look  _ that  _ creepy, especially since the curtain touched the floor, so they didn’t have to see the rest of the creepy basement. 

There were two mattresses for the brothers, a wardrobe and a set of drawers. The only light in the basement had been from the other side, so they had to connect a lamp to a power strip. Surely in the dark, it would feel like a room. 

Sort of. 

Daun had stacked his boxes outside of the bedroom corner before climbing onto one mattress, laying on top of the blue comforter. “God, I was so tired of being in that car for so long.”

“I don’t even remember the last time I was in a car,” Horyeong agreed, sitting down on the other mattress. He had left his boxes next to the wardrobe, not wanting to unbox yet. He couldn’t help but also lie down on the mattress, his back instantly relaxing. “What a weird way to end summer.”

“At least it wasn’t winter, though,” Daun admitted. “I’m going to miss having my own room.”

“Bro, I’m going to miss  _ having  _ a room,” Horyeong laughed. “Dad didn’t tell us that we were going to live in the freaking basement.”

“He certainly did not, but look.” Daun pulled out his phone and turned it on, showing Horyeong the screen. “We have signal down here.”

“I am instantly comforted knowing we have wireless internet.” Horyeong pulled out his own phone, eyes widening at the two hundred messages that Zeth and Seulchan had left him. “What is  _ wrong  _ with these two idiots?”

“You literally rethink your friendship with them everyday.” Daun put his phone on the floor and kicked off his shoes. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Daun, it’s like 6 pm,” Horyeong reminded him. 

“Mind you, we just moved.” Thankfully they had pillows, so Daun grabbed the one on the mattress and laid it underneath his head, his eyes immediately closing. “You heard them, we still have a week left, and now I have to spend it unpacking.”

“That should take like an hour for you,” Horyeong said. “You barely didn’t bring anything. Actually, you didn’t even own much in the first place.”

“Not all of us are materialistic, now leave me alone, I’m trying to nap.” 

Horyeong rolled his eyes, but he also took off his shoes and scooted closer to his own pillow. “Should we do some exploring tomorrow?”

“Fine, let’s go explore this Jeju Island.”


	2. Ice Cream

Horyeong woke up around 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep, so he grabbed his phone and to his dismay, it was dead. It would be rude of him to turn on the light to find the charger, since Daun was still sound asleep, curled up on his own bed, so that left Horyeong to stare at the basement ceiling for what surely felt like hours but was probably five minutes.

It got pretty boring, though, so he decided to just leave the room and headed upstairs to the first floor, bumping into the walls once or twice since it was still freaking dark.

When he opened the door, it was definitely more lighter in the kitchen, which is where the door to the basement was; there were windows, so the room was illuminated with moonlight with no trouble, which also gave him the ability to see his mother on the kitchen table, a glass of water in front of her. 

She got startled when she heard him open the door, making noise. “Horyeong, what are doing being up at this hour?"

Horyeong shrugged, pulling out a chair to sit down. “I woke up and I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

She nodded in understanding. “And your brother?”

“Nah, Daun asleep as always, you know nothing can ever ruin his sleep schedule.” Horyeong looked out the window, where even in the dark he was able to see some trees outside. “What are  _ you  _ doing up at this hour?”

“Oh, nothing, son,” his mother said, waving him off. “Don’t worry about me.” She took a sip of her water, gulping before speaking again. “How are you guys feeling about the move?”

“Eh, I mean nothing really for now,” Horyeong explained. “I mean, we haven’t exactly gone out to explore this weird island-”

“Oh, I’m sure you guys will love it,” she said. “Why don’t you guys go exploring tomorrow?”   
  
  


***

  
  


“I don’t want to go exploring,” Daun said in the morning, staring at his bare feet, pouting. “I didn’t even explore Seoul, what makes you think I’ll go out here?”

“Okay, first of all, it was mom who said it would be a good idea to go outside.” Horyeong took out a pair of his sneakers from one of his boxes, now digging around through his bag of clothes trying to find socks. He was still wearing the same outfit of yesterday, so he felt a bit icky, but it was 8 am and it would be weird to just start showering when everyone was still asleep (including his mother who eventually went back to bed.) “Plus, we don’t have to meet people, we can just go to a restaurant or something.”

Daun sighed, getting off his bed to open one of his boxes. “You’re paying.”

“Wait, why am  _ I  _ paying?!” Horyeong exclaiming, lifting up one of his sneakers to get ready to throw at Daun. “I only have two dollars.”

“No you don’t, I saw your wallet.” Daun pulled out a pair of flip flops and set them on the floor, putting them on. “I doubt Jeju is more expensive than Seoul.”

“I don’t know, Daun, it  _ is  _ a vacation location for many people.” Horyeong grabbed his wallet and phone off his bed; thankfully, he had been able to charge his phone earlier after Daun woke up, and it was at a good 78%. “I’m still not paying for you, though.”

Daun rolled his eyes, heading up the stairs. “I’m not having my honeymoon here, ever, that’s for sure.”   
  


“Isn’t your honeymoon going to be in Iceland or something?” Horyeong asked, following his younger brother up the stairs. 

Daun turned around to glare at him as he opened the basement door. “Where in your mind did you get Canada from Iceland?”

“You know, the cold place with ice?”

“No, dummy, that’s Greenland, which is  _ next  _ to-” Daun was interrupted as he bumped into his dad, who was passing by the basement door. “Ow.”

“Oh, wow, boys, you’re up early,” his dad said, frowning at Daun who was rubbing his head. “Come on, it wasn’t  _ that  _ bad.”

“I could have fallen back on the stairs and died,” Daun grumbled. 

Horyeong pushed Daun to the side in order to see his dad. “Daun doesn’t want to see Jeju Island.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea, you know, go out and see the city,” their father agreed, opening the fridge and pulling out his coffee creamer. “We also have to get you guys registered for school next week-”

“Not  _ school _ ,” Horyeong groaned, hitting his head on the wall. “I don’t want to start senior year.”

“Education is important, Horyeong, don’t forget that,” his father reminded them. “Just remember guys to come back before dinner and to have battery in your phones, and be careful-”

“Dad, I really doubt Jeju Island has more crime than Seoul,” Daun said. 

  
  


***

  
  


“I’m starting to wonder if Jeju Island has more crime than Seoul,” Horyeong said while the two were walking downtown to where the shops were. “That’s the third street fight I’ve seen.”

“To be fair, we never did go out in Seoul,” Daun reminded him, trying not to look back. The last thing he needed was for those teenage boys to think he wanted to pick a fight with him as well. Daun was pretty sure a strand of spaghetti had more stamina than him. “You only went to hang out with Zeth and Seulchan.”

“Yeah, they’re nut jobs, not gonna deny it.” Horyeong remembered how in the morning, those two spammed the group chat like fifty times arguing whether Jeju people preferred pancakes or waffles. Horyeong had long ago given up reminding them that DMs were a thing, since they claimed that they didn’t want anyone to be left out. Just fuck Horyeong’s sleep schedule, he guessed. 

Daun started hitting Horyeong’s shoulder with his fists. “Hey, Horyeong, Horyeong, Horyeong, let’s go to that shop right there."

He pointed to the sign above a small place, stating it was an ice cream parlor. “Ice cream? In the morning?” Horyeong reminded him. 

“Ice cream has no curfew.” Daun grabbed his wrist and opened the parlor door, pulling him inside. “Plus, this is the cheapest thing you can buy me, what’s a cone gonna cost, 5,000 won?”

“That can  _ literally  _ buy us a big bucket of ice cream and a box of cones,” Horyeong argued but let himself be pulled into the parlor. He was craving chocolate anyways. 

The ice cream parlor was pretty empty, save for a group of teens sitting near the window and two families. There wasn’t a line either, so they went straight to the glass counter, Daun pressing his hands against the glass to stare at all the flavors. 

“Yo, they have mocha as a flavor,” he told Horyeong, pointing at a container. “Look, watermelon-”

Horyeong shrugged, pulling out his phone. He was going to get chocolate anyways, he wasn’t someone like Daun who liked to try new things. No, he was perfectly fine with his one flavor and rainbow sprinkles, thank you very much. And he was a very strong believer of hating strawberry. 

A guy who looked to be around their age came to the register to take their order. “Hello and welcome to Kim’s Ice Cream Parlor, I’m Haneul, how may I help you today?”

“Ooh, can I have a scoop of blueberry cheesecake and one of raspberry flavor on the biggest waffle cone you have?” Daun asking, pointing to the respective flavors. “And give me a lot of strawberry syrup.”

“I’ll just have two chocolate scoops,” Horyeong said. 

Haneul wrote their orders on a stack of post it notes. “Okay, that’ll be 8,140 won.” He said. “YO, HYOGI, COME HERE, WE MAKING ICE CREAM!”

“Can you pay for me, please,” Daun said, pouting. “You’re the older brother.”   
  


Horyeong someone behind them choke on their ice cream. He turned around to see the group of three teens, where one was patting on the other’s back.

“Just this once for being our first day at Jeju,” Horyeong gave in, pulling out his wallet and taking out a 10,000 won bill. “You owe me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, enjoy your boring chocolate.”

An employee came out of the double doors, a lot shorter. “Now what do you want, Haneul?”

“Shut up and make these two orders,” Haneul said, taking off the post it note from the stack and sticking it on Hyogi’s forehead. “Mom said you have to stop being lazy during work.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Hyogi said, taking the post it note off his head and looking at it. “Yo, the blueberry cheese cake SLAPS!”

Next to the ice creams, there was a tray filled with different stacks of cones, so Hyogi took one out and slid the glass lid, grabbing the ice cream scooper to make Daun’s order.

Meanwhile, Haneul took the 10,000 won from Horyeong and gave him back his change. “I hope you guys enjoy your ice cream.”

Horyeong took the change and stuffed it in his pocket while Hyogi gave Daun his ice cream. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Daun gave it a big bite, which made Horyeong cringe inside. “Yum.”

Horyeong was handed his own ice cream, so they went to sit down at one of the small, empty tables next to the windows, about a table apart from one of the families and the group of three teens. 

Daun kept taking bites of his ice cream, looking out the window while Horyeong gave a few licks to his own. He had to admit, it was some pretty good chocolate ice cream. 

“We should go back home when we’re done,” Daun said between bites. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to be stuffed.” 

Horyeong nodded. “Yeah, I’ve had enough of Jeju for one day-” He stopped when he saw a guy stand behind Daun, fidgety. “Uh, Daun?”

“I already told you I don’t care if there’s a spider behind my face,” Daun said, taking another bite of his ice cream. “It’s just an insect, anyways.”

Horyeong pointed behind Daun. “Daun.”

“Jesus Christ,  _ what _ , Horyeong-” Daun said, looking behind him to see one of the teens standing behind him, a piece of paper and pen in hand. “Uh… hello?”

“Oh, hey, you-you said your name was Daun, right?” The guy said. “Do you happen to go to our high school?” 

Daun frowned. “I thought it didn’t start yet.”

“No, it doesn’t, it starts next week, but there’s a petition we’re trying to start,” the guy explained. “I’m Hwalchan."

“Daun, and this is my annoying brother Horyeong-”

“ExCUSE ME-”

“And we just moved here…” Daun trailed off. “What’s it for, anyways?”

Another guy came up behind him. “Hwalchan here will give you all the jargon, don’t listen to him, it’s just to stop favoring all the smart kids.”

“I don’t give jargon, Jae I!” Hwalchan yelled at him, pushing him away. “Go hang out with Uiyeon or something!”

“That bitch over there is just ogling at Haneul, he’s no fun,” Jae I explained, pointing at the guy who must be Uiyeon. “Look at him, his sundae is even melting!”

Uiyeon was indeed staring at the employee who helped them earlier, Haneul, who was now yelling at his brother Hyogi who dropped a bag of chocolate chips over the floor. 

“Look, can you guys just sign it, please?” Hwalchan said back to Daun and Horyeong placing the sheet on their table. “The school here is hell, I’m just warning you.”

“ _ You  _ have it easy, you’re salutatorian,” Jae I argued. “All the teachers love you.”

“Because they practically force me to do their taxes!” Hwalchan exclaimed.

While those two continued to bicker, Horyeong grabbed the pen and paper and read over it. It looked simple enough; all it asked was for name and-

“Uh, I don’t have a school email yet,” Horyeong told Hwalchan, handing it back to him. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay, if I see you guys in school, I’ll give it to you then-”

“HWALCHAN!” Haneul came from behind the counter, a spatula in hand. Why he had a spatula since he did ice cream, Horyeong had no idea. “Stop messing with the customers, do you want me to get grounded again?”

“Tell your parents it was Hyogi’s fault,” Jae I said. “Besides, you said we’re not friends anymore since I ate your lasagna.”

“Which you have  _ yet  _ to pay me back for.” Haneul grabbed Jae I and Hwalchan’s ears, ignoring the two and their yelping. “Now go help Uiyeon over there, it looks like he’s in a trance.”

“You’re so fucking dense,” Jae I muttered, waving to Daun. “See you guys in school, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY I HAVE INTERNET ON A LAPTOP FOR LIKE ONE HOUR SO IM UPLOADING THE STORIES I HAVE CHAPTERS WRITTEN SO FAR ALSO PROTEST FOR GEORGE FLOYD OKAY!!! BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!


	3. First Day of School

“It’s back to school time, thots!!” Haneul got out of the driver’s seat of his car and yelled at his friends, Jae I and Hwalchan, who were standing next to the steps of the school building. “This is our year!”

“Yeah, no it’s not,” Hwalchan complained. “You know all the essays and exams we got to take in order to get into a good university here in Korea-”

“Bye, Haneul, have a good time being an idiot,” Hyogi said as he got out of the passenger seat. “I can’t wait till you graduate.”

“Shut up, Hyogi, go play legos with Minhyun and Woojin,” Haneul taunted back to him. Hyogi just replied with flipping him off and heading into the school, probably off to bitch to his friends. “Jesus, he’s so annoying, when will Uiyeon get here?”

Hwalchan looked at his watch. “Well, it usually takes him five minutes-”

“Calm down, Hwalchan,” Jae I said. “He’ll just get jealous if he sees Uiyeon with another guy.”

Haneul’s face turned red. “I don’t get jealous of him-”

Baekgyeol came behind him, clapping his hand on the latter’s shoulder. “Senior year, guys, are we ready?”

“Where the fuck did you come from?” Haneul said, pushing Baekgyeol’s hand off him. “I’m still mad at you for eating my ice cream.”

“Your parents  _ literally  _ own an ice cream parlor!!” Baekgyeol shouted, trying to defend himself. 

“Yo, Baekgyeol, you didn’t get to hear about the hottest guy I saw there the other day,” Jae I interrupted. “Like, he was so goddamn-”

“No one wants to hear about your wet dreams again, Jae I,” Haneul reminded him, giving him a dirty look. “Keep it in your pants for school hours, dammit.”

Hwalchan took out his phone. “We’re missing Dongin, Donghwi and Uiyeon-”

“We get it, Hwalchan, you miss your boyfriend,” Baekgyeol said. “If only Youngwoong loved me.”

“Press F to pay respects,” Haneul said, patting the latter’s back. “You’ll find someone.”

“Easy for you to say, someone already has a crush on you,” Baekgyeol muttered, crossing his arms across his chest. 

Haneul raised an eye. “Who would- LOOK, IT’S UIYEON!”

Uiyeon, in question, was a few feet away, walking with the last two friends in their friend group, Dongin and Donghwi. When he noticed Haneul, though, he picked up the pace to reach the group quicker. “Hey, Hanuel, how was your weekend?”

“Pretty good,” Haneul said, his face gleaming. “Except Hyogi ate my sushi rolls-”

“God, I hate mushy couples,” Hwalchan muttered, only to squirm when he felt someone’s hands around him. “Who’s touching me?!”

“Your boyfriend, idiot,” Dongin said, resting his head on Hwalchan’s shoulder. “I’m using my PDA pass of the week.”

“On the first day of school?” Hwalchan asked him. He tried to turn his head, but that basically meant his lips resting on Dongin’s cheeks. “Literally who could you possibly be showing off to?”

“Uiyeon,” Dongin stated. “You know.”

“Yeah, I bet he’s still not asking Haneul to the dance this year  _ again _ ,” Hwalchan muttered, thankful that the two lovebirds Haneul and Uiyeon were in their own conversation. “Guys, class is about to start!”

“Bet I’ll have a date with that cute new guy by the end of the week,” Jae I told the group, only to get smacked by Baekgyeol. “OW! Why would you do that?”

“In this household, we respect people!” Baekgyeol reminded him. “Go be an asshole somewhere else!”

“Asshole hours are opened, it’s school time, after all,” Haneul interrupted him. 

“They can always be opened if you don’t give a fuck,” Dongin said, arms still tightly wrapped around Hwalchan. 

“That’s what I’m going to tell you next time you asked for free ice cream.” And with that, Haneul slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Bye, assholes-”

“No, you can’t do this to me!!” Dongin screeched, letting go of Hwalchan to fall on his knees in front of Haneul, grasping his hands and shaking them. “I need free ice cream!!”

“Uh, guys, class is about to start,” Donghwi reminded the whole group. He grabbed Haneul and Baekgyeol’s collars, ignoring the two yelping. “Let’s go already!!”

  
  


***

“I’m not sure whether to be mad or glad that the school is a fifteen minute walk from our house,” Horyeong told his brother on the way to school. “Guess we’re doing exercise whether we like it or not.”

“Calm down, stupid, walking a few minutes a day isn’t going to hurt you.” Daun lifted up his hoodie to cover his face better as the school came into view. “Besides, like I said, you only have a year left.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what I want to study, and that’s  _ if  _ I go to college,” Horyeong confessed. “I’m almost eighteen, it’s about time I know."

Daun shrugged. “It’s fine if you don’t know, you shouldn’t be expected to plan out the rest of your life while you’re still young. Give it time.”

“I know you won’t be fit for a guidance counselor position, that’s for sure,” Horyeong muttered. 

Daun rolled his eyes. “That’s because parents will throw a fit if they discover that the school is telling their child that it’s okay not to go to college.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

The two walked in silence afterwards, Daun with his earbuds in while Horyeong every now and then turned on his phone to see what was going on in the groupchat. Zeth was ranting about pineapple pizza lovers while Seulchan yelled at him to shut up. Yep, nothing out of the ordinary, that’s for sure. 

Soon enough, the school came into view. There were people milling outside, everyone trying to catch up with their friends or stalling off entering the school. There weren’t any teachers that Horyeong could see, only the usual volunteers who make sure the car drivers don’t accidentally run over someone or something.

That’s happened in Horyeong’s old school a  _ bit  _ too often. 

Daun pulled out one of his earbuds. “Well, looks like it’s back to being slaves in the name of education.”

“Fuck boomers.” Horyeong turned off his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. “Looks like we have to separate now, lil bro-”

“Can you not quote authors who have no idea how siblings work, please,” Daun pleaded, kicking Horyeong’s leg. “You know better than that.”

Horyeong sighed. “Maybe I should become an author.”

“If you want to, sure-” Daun stopped walking. “Ah, shit.”

“Let me guess, you forgot something at home,” Horyeong guessed. 

Daun shook his head, pointing at a group of people standing in a group in front of the steps of the school. “It’s the people from the ice cream parlor last week.”   
  


Horyeong looked at where Daun was pointed and was also surprised. “Damn, they really do go to the same school as us- hey, where are you going?” 

Daun was speed walking away from him. “I want to get a good seat, leave me alone.”

Watching him practically run away, Horyeong sighed and shook his head, before heading into the building as well, right when the warning bell rang. 

***

Fortunately (or unfortunately for Horyeong), the guy named Hwalchan found him during lunch, slamming the sign-up sheet on the table again. “Tell me you have a school email now,” he said. 

Horyeong did, in fact, already get a school email during homeroom, so he had no excuse now. “I’ll get a pen,” he said, reaching into his backpack which he had put it on the empty seat next to him. He had managed to grab an empty table at lunch, thankfully. “What was this for again?”    
  


“It’s to stop mistreatment and favoritism in the school,” Hwalchan explained. “There’s been many cases here at school but the school district always lets it get pushed aside, so we’re arguing that if they don’t pay attention to it, we will inform the higher ups know-”

Someone came behind Hwalchan, wrapping his arms around the latter’s waist. “I’m so glad we have the same lunch period,” he whispered, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

Hwalchan rolled his eyes. “Dongin, out of all the times you want to prove to others that I’m taken, now is not the time.” 

“No, wait, I thought this was the guy Jae I liked?” Dongin asked. 

“Dongin, that’s the other dude, Daun-”

Horyeong took out his pen and stared at the two. “Excuse me, Daun as my  _ brother _ ?”

“I think this is my cue to go back to the table and steal Haneul’s rice,” Dongin said, letting go of Hwalchan. “Get those signatures, babe!!"

Hwalchan sighed, looking at Horyeong. “Jae I is just weird, he gets a new crush every week, doesn’t mean any harm, though.”

Horyeong frowned but didn’t say anything, signing the paper quickly with his new email listed. “I hope this works out for you guys,” he said. “Last thing I need in a new school is unfair treatment.”

“EXACTLY, everyone should feel comfortable here,” Hwalchan agreed. 

Someone else came up next to Hwalchan, waving a sheet in front of him. “Hwalchan, good news, we just finished another page,” he said. 

“That’s great!” Hwalchan exclaimed. “Oh, Donghwi, this is Horyeong, he’s a new student here, you know, the one with his brother at Haneul’s family’s ice cream parlor.”

Donghwi looked at Horyeong, frowning. “Uh… hey?”

The guy was about Daun’s height. He was wearing normal jeans and converse, a black jacket on with the hoodie up even though it was practically still summer. “Hey as well,” Horyeong responded, waving. 

“Oh, you put here that you’re a senior?” Hwalchan asked, looking at the sheet that Horyeong signed. “That’s cool, so are all of us- well, except Haneul’s brother, Hyogi, he’s a sophomore but he has his own group of sophomore friends- hey, Donghwi, what did they argue about yesterday? I forgot?”

“Hyogi accidentally broke his shoes,” Donghwi said, grabbing Hwalchan’s arm. “Come on, we promised to give the sheets to Baekgyeol.”

Horyeong watched them walk away before returning to eating his rice, the thoughts of the unfamiliar boy long forgotten. 

  
  


***   
  


Daun was packing up his stuff at the end of the day during his Intro to Engineering class, thankful that he wasn’t given too much work on his first day. There was still stuff to do around the house, and he wanted to get a job soon to help out his parents, not wanting to be a burden on them. 

He stuffed his notebook in his bag when he saw someone with his peripheral vision standing in front of him. 

Daun looked up to see one of the guys from the ice cream parlor last week. “Hey, you’re Daun, right?” the guy asked him.

Confused, Daun nodded slowly, not moving. “What about it?”

“Oh, well, not sure if you remembered, but last time my friend was asking about signatures,” the guy said, handing Daun a sheet of paper. “I’m Jae I.”

Daun took the sheet slowly, going over it. It looked like the same from last time. “You want me to sign it?”

“If it’s no trouble,” Jae I said, scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry that we keep asking you.”

“No, it’s totally fine.” Daun took out one of his pencils again and quickly filled in his name, his grade level and his email, which he had just received this morning. “It’s that it?”

Jae I nodded. “Yeah, that’s it, we’re just hoping that the school board looks over it.”

Daun stuffed his pencil back into his backpack, along with his other supplies. “Glad to be of assistance,” Daun said, remembering all those times back in elementary school of the teachers having favorites and making him feel like a bad kid. 

“Oh, and, uh, are you free tomorrow?” Jae I asked abruptly, earning a stare from Daun. “I- I mean, not like that, it’s just some of us who weren’t there last week were curious of you guys, and maybe we can show you good places around Jeju and that sort of stuff.”

Daun darted his eyes between Jae I and the clock on the wall of the room. It was good that he didn’t depend on the bus, but Horyeong was still going to wait for him. “I mean, uh-”

“I can get Haneul to give you free ice cream,” Jae I added. “His parents own the ice cream parlor.”

Daun was getting suspicious, but since he had no money for anything for himself for now, he decided to take up the offer. He didn’t have the energy to say no, anyways. “Only for the ice cream.”


	4. Friendship is a Weird Concept

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like things are finally advancing in this fic  
> Also please stan great guys, they truly are great guys

“How was school today?” Horyeong asked Daun on the walk back home after school. He was really tired, but thankfully they didn’t have to walk that far to reach home. “Did you meet any people?”

Daun kicked a stone with his foot, the rock landing a few feet away, which he managed to kick again. “You’re starting to sound like mom,” he said. 

Horyeong scoffed. “No I do not.”

“Yeah you do.”

“No I don’t-”

“Yeah, but anyways.” Daun kicked the rock again. “It went okay I guess. Pretty silent, but I did get invited to ice cream tomorrow."

“At the ice cream parlor that we went to yesterday?” 

Daun nodded. “Yeah, that one, they said I’ll get free ice cream."

“It better not be that guy called Jae I who invited you,” Horyeong warned, remembering what happened during lunch earlier.

Daun raised an eye. “Uh… how did you know his name?”

“Never mind,” Horyeong muttered, walking faster towards the house, ignoring Daun’s shouting behind him. “It’ll take too long to explain-”

“We have ten minutes until we arrive home, that should be enough time for you to explain,” Daun reminded him. 

Horyeong sighed. “Do you remember the guys at the ice cream parlour? The one who was explaining about the petition.”

Daun nodded. “Yeah, what about him?”

“He said that Jae I thinks you're hot,” Horyeong explained. “So if you’re going to hang out with him, remember to be careful.”

Daun rolled his eyes at him, kicking the rock harder than usual, which fell a good thirty feet away from them. “You think I didn’t know that when he asked me?” he said. “You think a sane person would give free ice cream to someone they don’t like?”

Horyeong gave him a weird look. “I can’t believe you’re going to exchange sex for ice cream-”

“No the fuck I’m not!” Daun took off his backpack and started hitting it onto Horyeong’s back, ignoring his older brother’s yelping. “Dumb ass, you know I haven’t even kissed anyone yet!!”

“We’ve already had this conversation before- don’t hit me!!” Horyeong pushed Daun away from him and started running. “Leave me alone!”

“No, you deserve it- come back here!!” Daun chased after his brother, backpack in his hands as if it were a loaded weapon. “I’m not done with you yet!”   
  
***   
  
“How was school today?” their father asked them during dinner in the evening, giving Daun an odd sense of deja vu. “Made any new friends?”

“Dad, you have a limited understanding of how friendships are made,” Horyeong said. “You don’t see a new student at school and say ‘I’m gonna be friends with them-”

“That’s how you became friends with Zeth, though,” Daun pointed out.

Horyeong glared at him. “We’re talking about Zeth, though.”

Daun made an ‘oh’ face. “You have a point,” he mumbled to himself. 

“Well, you must have met some really nice people,” their grandmother said. “All the teens in this neighborhood are lovely, I tell you, including some teens nearby who always hang out at the ice cream parlour-”

Daun spit out his rice onto his plate, causing all five family members to stare at him due to the commotion.

He realized they were looking at him and shrugged. “What?”

“Are you okay?” his mother said, leaning over the table to pat his back. “I thought you were choking on your food.”

Daun shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not hungry today,” he muttered, getting up from the table and picking up after himself. “I think I have a stomach ache.”

“Oh, I’ll make you some tea later, dear,” his grandmother said. “Do you like chamomile? I’ll make you some-”

“No, thank you grandmother, I’ll be fine, I just need to lie down,” Daun said, washing his plate at the sink quickly. 

“Yo, I have stuff to do, too.” Horyeong hastily got up as well. “I have homework and Seulchan needs help with something, thanks for dinner guys.”

His grandfather laughed. “Kids these days, always busy doing something. Back in my day, we were always busy playing outside, we got almost every injury you can even think of.”

“Dad, please don’t recommend them getting electrocuted by a car battery,” their father told him. 

“Why not, what does the youth say, nowadays? You only live once.”   
  


  
***

_ Cult #5 _

_ I’m dating a different woojin _

_ Zeth you said you were coming over later _

_ I hate my real name _

_ I am!! _

_ But my mom said I have to finish my homework first :( _

_ Why don’t you invite your boyfriend stupid _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ Hold on _

_ Did you say that seulchan has a boyfriend??? _

_ I hate my real name _

_ Do you remember that varsity player guy named woojin _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ Zeth _

_ There’s like five woojins at school _

_ I hate my real name _

_ Are you fucking stupid _

_ There’s only one varsity player named Woojin _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ I thought Woojin was dating Jihoon?? _

_ I hate my real name _

_ Jihoon was dating Soonyoung, though? _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ YOU GUYS ARE ALL THINKING OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE _

_ THE WOOJIN AND JIHOON COUPLE ARE BOTH PARKS _

_ THE OTHER JIHOON IS LEE AND HE’S DATING SOONYOUNG _

_ AND I’M DATING A DIFFERENT WOOJIN!!!!! _

_ DID YOU NOT READ MY NAME?!?!? _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ Oh! I get it now! _

_ Kim Woojin! _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO _

_ He’s dating the other chan!! _

_ I’m dating LEE WOOJIN!!! NOT PARK, NOT KIM, LEE!!! _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ Oh!!! _

_ The varsity player, right? _

_ I hate my real name _

_ This is how cheating rumors start _

***

The next day of school went exactly as the first day of school, in Donghwi’s opinion. 

The house was empty, as usual. His father was off to some who knows what business trip for his company for the entire week, and Donghwi’s two golden retrievers named Helicopter and Kevin were asleep in the living room, so he made his usual breakfast of cream cheese toast, eating it at the kitchen table for two minutes as he stared out the sliding door glass. 

Like the usual, he heard a knocking on the door, so he lazily made his way to the door, opening it to reveal Dongin on the door steps.

“Jae I told me that you promised to give him some sour patch kids you brought the other day,” Dongin said, waving his phone that showed the text messages. “Also, you might want to hurry up, Uiyeon is crying about-”

“Haneul, let me guess,” Donghwi guessed.

Dongin rolled his eyes. “He’s really being a coward. Literally, how am I the only one with a boyfriend in our group?”

“Truly a mystery,” Donghwi muttered. “Hold on, let me give my dogs breakfast and then we can go, you came early.”

“Ooh, is Kevin awake, I want to pet him!” Dongin kicked his shoes off and hurried into the house, shouting for Kevin. “KEVIN! COME HERE BOY!”

Donghwi sighed, closing the door to follow Dongin. “Kevin and Helicopter are asleep!” he yelled, which was no use; soon, he heard barking. 

He found Dongin on the floor, laughter as Kevin and Helicopter licked all over his face. “Man, I can’t wait until I marry Hwalchan and we adopt five dogs, this is the life.”

“Death by good boys is always the way to go,” Donghwi said, heading to the kitchen where he kept the dog food. Helicopter and Kevin were playing with Dongin, who was clearly having the time of his life. 

Donghwi whistled, signaling it was time to eat. “Guys!” he said in a high pitched voice. “Come get your breakfast!” 

Kevin and Helicopter got off from Dongin, and as the good boys they were, went to Donghwi to eat their breakfast. He ruffled their fur coats as they ate, giving them soft kisses on their foreheads, before grabbing his bag off the counter and heading to the foyer again, where Dongin was putting on his shoes. 

“I think my favorite is Helicopter today,” Dongin said. “He gave me a high five.”

“Can’t you just love my dogs all the same,” Donghwi scolded him, slapping his arm. “You have five biases in seventeen, how hard is it to bias two dogs?”

“Well, you see, Hwalchan’s dog Spaghetti has to be my number one favorite,” Dongin explained. “I know, it’s a chihuahua, they have to naturally be evil, but he’s the most respectful guy I know.”

Donghwi shrugged. “So just have three dogs as your favorite.”

“Eh, you’re right, but only because you're my best friend,” Dongin said. “Remember, we’re the Dong twins, and we’re gonna beat Baekgyeol’s ass today in beyblade.”   
  


***

  
  


“I am  _ this  _ close to beating your ass,” Baekgyeol yelled at Dongin during lunch, standing up. “Hwalchan! Any last words to your boyfriend?”

If they weren’t in public, Hwalchan would have wrapped his arms around Dongin and protect him from the wrath of the youngest in the group, but since they were at school, he settled with giving his boyfriend a fry. He  _ never  _ gave up fries. “If you kill him, I won’t help you with your science homework anymore.”

Baekgyeol crossed his arms, pouting. “Can I at least kick him? Maybe just a tiny bit?”

“I volunteer for kicking Dongin,” Jae I said, raising his hand as if he were in a classroom. “Please let me kick him-”

“Can’t you guys be more productive?” Haneul scolded all of him, eating a cup of frozen lemon juice. Perks of working in an ice cream parlour, after all. “Since you guys are all riled up for some violence, let’s just go to the forest after school and hang out in the tree house.”

Dongin scooted closer to Hwalchan, almost touching him but not quite. “Can we just not beat each other up?”

“Then hurry up and let’s finish this beyblade match,” Baekgyeol said, sitting back down. “Unless you’re afraid to let it rip.”

Dongin cracked his fingers dramatically. “Try me bitch.”

“Yeah, I’m just gonna play on my nintendo switch,” Uiyeon announced, taking out the game console from his backpack. “Haneul, do you want to play?”

“Hell yeah, I believe in destroying someone in a metaphorical sense.” He held out his hand, letting Uiyeon give him the blue controller.

Uiyeon grabbed his apple juice box. “You know I let you win.”

“No you don’t,” Haneul denied as Uiyeon took a sip. “I should visit your house more often so that we can play-”

With that comment, Uiyeon spewed his apple juice all over his tray, ruining his rice and noodles in the process, along with Haneul and Baekgyeol’s food as well. 

“He’s gay panicking again,” Donghwi muttered to Dongin, the only one who thankfully heard him. 

Baekgyeol got up from his seat again, annoyed. “DUDE! YOU RUINED MY LUNCH!!”

“This is really nasty,” Haneul mumbled, grabbing his napkins and wiping it on the table. “I can’t believe you would waste perfectly good apple juice!”

“It was an accident!” Uiyeon complained. “I didn’t do it on purpose!!”

“I would steal your rice but you spit on it too!!” Baekgyeol screeched, ignoring the people staring at them. “Now I’m going to starve and die!”

“Technically speaking, you can go from two to three weeks without food,” Hwalchan contradicted him, but of course no one was hearing him. 

“Baekgyeol, if I give you free ice cream after school, will you SHUT THE FUCK UP?!?!” Haneul yelled at the youngest. “Jesus, I’m trying to play Nintendo here!”

Jae I’s face turned red. “Oh shit, that’s what I forgot to ask you…” he trailed off, looking at his unharmed tray.

Haneul glared at him. “Did you offer some crush of yours free ice cream again?”

“Okay, it was the cute guy from last week,” Jae I tried to explain himself. “I asked him if we can go today and I… did promise him… free-”

“Do I  _ look  _ like I own an ice cream store?!” Haneul yelled at him. 

“Technically yes!! It’s your parents store-”

“Can I finish this beyblade match?!?!” Dongin screamed at all of them. “You guys are insane, we only have ten minutes left till lunch ends!!”

Haneul grabbed all the items on his lunch tray and slid them onto Uiyeon’s before stacking his tray below it, pushing it aside. “Come on, Uiyeon, we got a quick match we got to play.”

Donghwi sighed, resting his arms on the table, looking around to find the clock at the lunchroom. They did indeed have ten minutes left until the end of lunch.

He saw someone sitting alone at one of the tables near them, realizing it was one of the new students his friends have been talking about. He had his earbuds in, typing on his phone. Jae I liked his brother or something, he had no idea how Jae I’s crushes worked these days. 

He rested his head on his hand, deep in thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know not much people read this, so I hope this is good for all the graces out there!! remember great guys comeback is next month! they're already revealing details


	5. Your Normal Hangout

After school, half the group was complaining about the homework that the harsh teachers have already assigned to them while the other half was visibly excited for school to end. 

Jae I was tugging on Haneul’s arm, his knees on the floor. “Please, Haneul, let us have free ice cream just this once!”

Haneul looked at his nails. “And why should I do that?”

“Dongin, I need to go home, let go of me,” Hwalchan said, trying to pry his boyfriend’s arms off him. “I have homework to do.”

“Can I come over? Please?” Dongin whined. “I miss you-”

“I hate high school,” Baekgyeol yelled, kicking a rock which accidentally hit Uiyeon’s shin. “I don’t want to do my homework.”

Donghwi rolled his eyes at Uiyeon who was on the floor, complaining about his injury and how he was going to die soon. “Let’s just go to the ice cream parlor and study there,” he said, shrugging. “You guys argue over the weirdest shit-”

“WE’RE NOT GOING AS A GROUP!” Haneul yelled at them. “I don’t want to get yelled at and Hyogi is a big snitch! And no one’s getting free ice cream!”

“I can pay!” Uiyeon said, knowing he only had twenty bucks, two quarters and a tootsie roll in his pocket. He just wanted to impress the love of his life. “We should hang out together, it’ll be fun.”

“Yes, thank you Uiyeon, please pay for me and that hot kid Daun,” Jae I said, getting on his knees in front of Uiyeon. “I will forever be in your debt-”

“Uiyeon I- you know what? Let’s go,” Haneul muttered, taking out his phone. “Don’t be annoying during my shift, please.”

Donghwi pulled Dongin off of Hwalchan, who had given up on being out of his boyfriend’s grasp. “You’re not going to die for not touching him every two seconds, Dongin,” he said, scolding him. 

Baekgyeol pumped his fists in the air. “Yeah, ice cream!! Haneul, you promised me free ice cream during lunch, remember?” 

“Yep, I didn’t forget- Jae I, get the fuck off of me,” Haneul said, threatening to kick him. “You’re fucking insane.”

Jae I got off of the ground, straightening his clothes. “Yo, I have two minutes before I meet Daun, you guys go ahead, I want to be alone with him.” And with that, he ran from the group, heading back towards the entrance of the school.

“So are we bothering him during his date, or…”

“Baekgyeol, you’re so childish sometimes,” Uiyeon said, fixing his backpack straps that were digging into his shoulders. God, he just wanted senior year to end. “Let’s go get ice cream, fellas, and die before we have a mortgage.”

“That just sounds like a bonus to me,” Donghwi said, taking out his phone. “Lead the way, Uiyeon.”   
  


  
***   
  


Daun stood next to his locker, checking the time on his phone, when his older brother showed up behind him, startling him. 

“How’s life- dude, why the fuck did you jump from me?” Horyeong said. 

Daun glared at him. “You scared me, idiot,” he said, returning his attention back to his phone. “Now go away, the guy said he’ll meet me here.”

“I thought you didn’t have money for ice cream,” Horyeong reminded him.

“Not sure if you remember, but he said I’ll get free ice cream,” Daun said, shrugging. “I’ll have ice cream and go home, tell mom to stop worrying about me.”

Horyeong rolled his eyes. “You know her, she told me to pop in at the ice cream parlor at a random time and make sure you were safe without you noticing me.”

“I- can you not- ah, jeez, gotta love our worrying mother,” Daun muttered under his breath. “Okay, but can you not be weird when you do it, I would gladly appreciate it.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I won’t be the overprotective brothers in the stories where I threatened to fight this guy,” Horyeong reassured him, walking away. “I’ll just head home and change first to make it look unplanned or some shit.”

“See ya! Don’t die!” Daun yelled after him, waving only to hear a hey behind him  _ again _ . 

He turned around to see the guy from his engineering class, Jae I if he remembered correctly. “Oh, it’s you,” Daun muttered. How this guy had feelings for him, he had no idea. 

Jae I leaned against the locker next to Daun, arms crossing calmly in front of him. “How are you doing?” he asked. “Liking Jeju yet?”

“That cliche is not going to work on me,” Daun warned him, slamming his own locker shut. “Not to sound rude, but I’m here for the free ice cream and no other exchange.”

Jae I’s eyes widened. “Oh, god, I didn’t mean it like that- no I promise, I’m just trying to be friendly,” he said, which was half-true anyways. Sure, Daun was hot, but it would be cool to hang out with him, especially if he was a city kid. Jae I had never been to the cities before. “I know Jeju might be kind of big but we don’t really get new students in this neighborhood.”

“Jeju is kind of expensive, though,” Daun said, pocketing his phone. “That’s probably why you guys don’t get a lot of people.”

“Nah, when people visit Jeju, they don’t visit this place,” Jae I said. “You think when people visit Tokyo they check out the slums? Nah, they go to the rich people shops and hotels.”

Daun shrugged. “That ruins the whole point of visiting, you’re not learning their culture, you’re just eating food. An important piece of culture, I must admit, but not everything, unfortunately.”

Jae I extended out his hand. “I don’t know what you guys eat back in Seoul but  _ here _ , we have ice cream,” he said. “I did promise free ice cream.”

“I don’t even know your last name and you’re giving me your hand,” Daun said. 

Jae I pulled back his hand, running it through his hair. “Well, if you’re so curious, it’s Im, yours?”

Daun rolled his eyes, sighing. “Lee, I have my father’s last name.”

“That’s cool,” Jae I said when a notification went through his phone. Must be the group chat with them telling Jae I to hurry up or someone yelling at Baekgyeol again, “Let’s go get free ice cream.”   
  


  
***

Donghwi swirled his straw in the glass of his milkshake, sighing. His father had yet to respond to his texts of getting back, but unfortunately, he was used to it. 

“Why the long face?” Hwalchan asked him, taking another bite of his cone. “What happened?”

Dongin, sitting on the other side of Hwalchan, leaned forward, not wanting a screaming Baekgyeol and Uiyeon to hear their conversation. He already knew what it was going to be about, anyways. “Let me guess, you dad is too busy to respond?”

“You got that part right,” Donghwi mumbled, turning off his phone. “I should probably head home soon to hang out with Kevin and Helicopter-”

“Okay,  _ why  _ is your dog named Helicopter?!” Hwalchan asked. They’ve already had this conversation before, but he seemed to forget all the time. “That’s not a normal name for a dog!”

Donghwi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Because his favorite toy in the animal shelter was a helicopter plushie, we’ve talked about this-”

“Babe, your chihuahua is named Spaghetti,” Dongin reminded Hwalchan. 

Hwalchan pouted. “I was hungry when I named him, that is  _ not  _ my fault.”

Oof, Donghwi could always relate to that. In his house alone, he was always snacking on something, meaning he had to train his dogs early on not to beg for food, especially his dog Kevin who always liked to whine at him when he was eating chocolate. Dogs couldn’t have chocolate, but as a dog, Kevin didn’t seem to get that. 

Speaking of being hungry, Donghwi could use another milkshake. “I’ll be right back,” he said, standing from his chair to head to the register, where Haneul was screaming at his brother Hyogi again who wanted to eat a bag of sprinkles. “Dongin, which flavor should I get next?”

“Get the turtle caramel nut, that one is hella good,” Dongin said, setting his hand a few inches from Hwalchan’s, which was on the table. “Can I grab your hand here?”'

“Yeah, sure, go ahead, there’s like only us here,” Hwalchan said. 

Donghwi left the table and stood in front of the register, whistling for Haneul’s attention. “Can I have another milkshake?” he asked, setting the glass on the counter. “I’m hungry.”

Haneul scoffed at him. “You guys  _ love  _ to take advantage of me while I’m working.”

“I’ll tip you a twenty,” Donghwi added. 

Haneul grinned, taking the glass. “HYOGI, WE HAVE ANOTHER MILKSHAKE COMING!”

Hyogi came out of the backroom, a mad look on his face. “Why do I have to make it?”

“Because if you are the bane of my existence, I’ll be yours,” Haneul flat out said. To Donghwi, he said, “That’ll be 4,200 won please.”

Donghwi took 25,000 won out and handed it to him. “Add extra caramel, please, I’m really craving sugar right now.”

“You’re going to die of diabetes,” Haneul said.

Donghwi rolled his eyes. “So is Uiyeon if he, quote on quote, ‘keeps looking at you’.”

Haneul’s face turned red. “Shut up, he does not like me,” he muttered, waving him off. “Go away, someone just entered the shop,” he said, looking behind Donghwi. 

Donghwi stepped to the side, looking at the person who walked in. It was just another teen like them, probably in the same high school, though he did look unfamiliar. Maybe it was a new student, he figured. 

The guy walked up to the register and said, “Uh, hey, can I just get two chocolate scoops please?”

“Hi and welcome to- oh okay, that’s your order,” Haneul trailed off, writing it on a post it note. “That’ll be 4,070 won, please.”

Donghwi felt someone stand behind him, so he turned around and saw Hwalchan, a surprised look on his face. “That’s Daun’s brother,” he whispered to Donghwi, who must have looked confused at the moment. 

“Uh.. whose Daun?” Donghwi asked. 

Hwalchan pointed to the windows, where Jae I was eating ice cream with that one guy he’s been mentioning that was hot and all that jazz. Apparently, Jae I wanted to sit farthest from their table since he knew that his friends would be dumb asses. “That’s Daun, the one Jae I is with.”

“Oh, yes, the two new students who just got to Jeju and you guys were shoving petitions down their faces,” Donghwi recalled. 

Hwalchan faked a gasp. “You know how important that is to us,” he harshly whispered to him, heading back to the table where Dongin was yelling at him to come back. “Oh, ask Haneul if I can have a cookie, I ate all my granola bars today.”

Donghwi rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter. “Haneul! Hwalchan wants a cookie-”

“WHY DID YOU MENTION MY NAME?!” Hwalchan screeched. 

Hyogi handed the glass to Donghwi. “I don’t know why you guys are friends with my brother,” he said. 

Donghwi shrugged. “I don’t know either, he yells at me for everything-”

Hanuel came back with the ice cream for the guy who came in. “Really, Donghwi? Sympathizing with the devil? How could you- oh, here’s your ice cream sir.”

The guy took the cone, nodding. “Yeah, thank you for the ice cream,” he said, taking a bite- oh, god, he was one of those psychopaths that bit their ice cream. “Truly the best ice cream I’ve had in Jeju so far.”

“Ha! You should tell that to my parents, they’ll be so happy and build you a statue right here in the ice cream parlour!” Haneul exclaimed. “And Hwalchan will do it, too, he’s glad you and your brother signed the petitions.”

The guy looked at where Jae I and his brother, Daun, were at, sitting. Daun was laughing at something that Jae I said. “Should I be worried about him or not?”

Hanuel shook his head. “Jae I’s just weird, like everyone else here,” he said. “He doesn’t mean any harm.” 

“Huh,” he said. “At least Daun’s smart, he knows how to take care of himself.”

Donghwi stifled a laugh, hearing the new guy. Clearly he hadn’t heard of the older brother stereotypes. “Shouldn’t you go over there and threaten Jae I or something?” he said, taking a sip of his milkshake.

The guy shook his head. “I’m assuming all his friends are you guys over there,” he said, pointing at the back table where Baekgyeol now had Dongin in a chokehold position. “Actually, I should probably leave before this becomes a crime scene.”

“Good luck! Avoid them at all costs!” Haneul shouted. “Bye, stranger!” 

The stranger left, ice cream cone in hand, and Donghwi couldn’t help but think there was something weird about that guy, something he couldn’t pinpoint, exactly. 


	6. Sweets! How Sweet of You

When Daun came back later from eating ice cream with that Jae I person, Horyeong  _ really  _ wanted to ask him questions about the whole outing but knew that Daun didn’t like to be bombarded with questions, even though they shared everything between them. So this meant that Horyeong had to wait. 

He was eating some leftover lasagna that he found in the fridge while messaging the groupchat (Zeth was complaining about Seulchan and his boyfriend’s ugly shoes) when Daun came into their makeshift room in the basement, taking off his shoes. 

Horyeong looked up when Daun came in. “Hey,” he said, holding himself back. 

Daun didn’t even bother to look at him, setting his backpack down on the floor. “Hey to you, too.”

“Mom said that they’ll be dinner soon,” Horyeong said, taking another stab at his lasagna. “It’ll just be us with mom and grandma, though. Dad is still at work and grandpa is doing something with some of his friends.”

“Not surprised,” Daun muttered, throwing himself on his bed. “I don’t want to do homework.”

Horyeong, who had finished his homework earlier (apparently some of the teachers were more lenient to seniors here), couldn’t help but laugh at his younger brother’s misery. “Sounds like a you problem,” he said. 

Daun pushed himself off the mattress and glared at Horyeong. “How dare you mock me. Just for that I’m not going to give you any details.”

“That’s not fair, you always tell me everything,” Horyeong pouted. “You know I’m curious.”

“Well, if I don’t want to tell you, you have to respect my privacy,” Daun reminded him. 

Horyeong rolled his eyes before returning his attention back to the group chat, where Zeth was now complaining about being single. “That’s the last time I pay for your ice cream,” he muttered under his breath. “No wonder you have too much homework.”

“Well, if you’re  _ really  _ dying to know, Jae I just talked to me about his friends and ask questions about me,” Daun said, grabbing his pillow off his bed to hug it. “And I had some fantastic ice cream. You and your two scoops of chocolate can suck it.”

“Excuse me for being a simple man with simple tastes,” Horyeong said, throwing his phone on his bed. “But I’m glad to hear that this guy doesn’t sound like a creep.”

“Please, between me and him, I’m the one most likely to murder someone,” Daun said, swinging his feet on the side of the bed. 

Horyeong raised an eye. “Should I be worried about you murdering me in my sleep?” he asked. 

“If you don’t do anything, I don’t see why you have to worry,” Daun said, shrugging.

“I- I’m not even going to pry about that,” Horyeong muttered. “But I’m glad this guy won’t stalk you or hide your body in the woods.”

“Oh, fuck, he did say something about the woods, though,” Daun added, scratching his head. “Something about how they had a treehouse there or something that him and his friends liked to hang out at.”

“A treehouse?” Horyeong asked. “That’s… kind of odd.”

Daun glared at him. “What’s odd about a treehouse, it’s just planks of wood, dummy.”

“No, I mean like… how many friends does he have again?” Horyeong asked. 

“Uh… I don’t know to be honest, like five or second or something,” Daun said. “And he does not have a boyfriend.”

Horyeong raised an eye. “Interesting. What does he plan for you to do with that information?”

“I don’t know but I have a feeling I’ll get more free ice cream,” Daun said, jumping off his bed. “But I’m still hungry. Is there more lasagna? I don’t want to wait until dinner.”

***

Donghwi’s father didn’t come back from his business trip until Friday morning, something he had not told Donghwi beforehand. 

He woke up at his usual time, brushing his teeth in his bathroom and then getting dressed upstairs in his room. He hadn’t heard his father wake up, so when he walked down the stairs to get his usual breakfast and feed his dogs, he had been surprised to see his father sitting at the kitchen table, working on his laptop. 

His father looked up at him, surprised. “Well, you’re up and early, Donghwi.”

Donghwi rolled his eyes, opening the fridge to grab a cup of yogurt. “You know Dongin and Uiyeon pick me up in the morning,” he said, grabbing a spoon. “When have I ever been late to class?”

“Well, it’s a well known fact that high schoolers always find the time to rebel,” his father said, taking a sip of the coffee mug in front of him. “Doesn’t help that teens these days are always stuck with some technology in their hands.”

Donghwi grabbed a dollop of yogurt with his spoon. “Dad, you’re on your laptop right now.”

His father scoffed at him. “You know I’m trying to do work on it- oh, will you look at the time?” He slammed his laptop shut and grabbed his suitcase on the table, getting up from his chair. “I have to head to the office and deal with some paperwork, some interns messed up a couple of documents-”

He grabbed his jacket and opened the front door. “Don’t be in front of your phone all day Donghwi,” was the last thing his father told him until he closed the door, leaving Donghwi alone in the house. 

The commotion must have woken up his two dogs, since Kevin and Helicopter soon made their way into the dining room, wagging their tails in excitement for Donghwi. 

Donghwi sighed at his father’s departure, setting his yogurt cup down. “Do you guys think I’m on my phone too much?” he asked rhetorically to his dogs, the two of them wagging their tails and smiling in response. “Or is he just saying that so he doesn’t feel bad for never answering my messages?”

A knock on the door startled him. Hopeful that it was his father returning to admit that he missed him or something, Donghwi rushed to open the door, deflating when he saw that it was just Dongin. 

Donghwi mumbled a hello and walked away, causing Dongin to raise an eye. “As your best friend I feel so loved,” he said sarcastically, stepping inside the house. “Does this have to do with how I just saw your dad leave the house?”

Kevin and Helicopter followed Donghwi back to the kitchen, where he was pouring them their breakfast. “Not even one comment of how much he misses me,” he muttered, scratching Kevin’s head as he and Helicopter ate out of their bowls.

Dongin sighed, bending down to pet the dogs’ fur. “Let me guess, another boomer comment?”

“Yep.” Donghwi grabbed his yogurt cup again and finally ate a spoonful. “But you know how he is, it’s just the usual.”

“I mean… yeah, if you say so,” Dongin trailed off. His phone started buzzing, so he took it out of his pocket, finding that Uiyeon was sending him messages. “Uiyeon says he’s gonna kick our ass if we take any longer- holy fuck, Haneul is bringing us gelato!” he shouted, tugging Donghwi’s arm to pull him out of the kitchen. “We have to  _ go!” _

“Damn, can I say goodbye to my dogs first?!” Donghwi shouted at him, watching Kevin and Helicopter make their way back to the living room. “No, you traitors!! How dare you leave me?”

“Come  _ on,  _ Donghwi, this is gelato we are talking about!” 

Dongin pulled Donghwi out of the house, giving him five seconds to lock the door before they made their way to the car, where Uiyeon, sitting at the driver’s seat, was banging his head against the steering wheel. 

“Um, Uiyeon, can you not do that, we still need a ride to school and we can’t get one if you’re dead,” Dongin said, heading to the passenger’s side. “Uiyeon! Stop crying again.”

Uiyeon grabbed his phone off his lap and showed Dongin the screen as Donghwi made his way towards the back of the van (he liked to sit in the back to lay his feet across). “I REPLIED LIKE A DUMB ASS!” Uiyeon shrieked, slamming his head on the steering wheel again. 

Donghwi sighed, pulling out a bag of chips in his backpack. “What did Haneul say this time that made you short circuit?” he asked, taking out a chip to eat. 

“He said if he could come over and I accidentally said fuck no!” Uiyeon cried out. “I’m never going to have a chance to be with him.”

“Just tell him it was autocorrect, that should solve the issue,” Dongin said, grabbing the phone from an incapable Uiyeon. “I can’t believe even Jae I is making more progress than you.”

“Because he’s lucky!” Uiyeon yelled. 

Donghwi sighed. “Uiyeon, can we go to school now? Didn’t Haneul promised to bring gelato or some shit?”

“Yes, Uiyeon, forget about that typo and think of his gelato!” Dongin reminded him. “We can do it!”

The car ride to school was filled with Uiyeon’s worries about gelato. 

  
  
***

Horyeong couldn’t help but notice that Daun kept hanging out with Jae I. 

To be fair, from what Daun had told them, they were in the same class for last period, his intro to engineering class, so of course they were going to talk with each other. However, he would see Daun taking a lot of time to meet Horyeong by the lockers to head home together, sometimes coming out of the classroom with Jae I, the two engage in a conversation. 

When he asks Daun about this, Daun just shrugs and says that Jae I is pretty smart in conversation, so he doesn’t mind one bit. That is all he has said about the subject, and since Horyeong can’t pry, he is left deducing everything from afar. 

During lunch on Friday while he was in line for his food, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at the table that Jae I sat at, holding a textbook high above his head to hit someone, the cash register guy from the ice cream parlour.

“Are you try to murder him or something?” he heard someone speak behind him. 

Horyeong turned around and saw someone behind him, staring at him. “You look like your giving Jae I death glares,” the guy said.   
  


“Uh… do I know you?” Horyeong asked.

The guy shrugged. “You’re Daun’s brother, I saw you at the ice cream parlour,” he said. “You ordered two chocolate scoops, very original I might add.” 

Horyeong looked away, taking a bowl of rice in front of him. “You sound just like my brother.”

“I would say great minds think alike but that’s not the full quote,” the guy said. “I’m Donghwi, Jae I’s friend, you’ve been giving him death glares for as long as I can remember.”

Horyeong tilted his head, confused. “I have not been giving him death glares.”

The guy - Donghwi - shrugged, also grabbing a bowl of rice, along with a serving of chicken. “Baekgyeol and Haneul are experts at giving death glares, I know when there’s one coming.”

“That’s a really odd power to have,” Horyeong admitted, though he could probably guess when Daun was giving him dirty looks too. “At least they don’t actually kill, though, I would hate to be in jail.”

Donghwi looked back at his friends table, watching Baekgyeol and Uiyeon now have an argument. “He’s not going to do anything to your brother, if that’s what you’re so afraid of,” he said, thinking of Jae I. “I know he looks like a playboy but he’s only kissed like three boys or girls in his life.”

“More than me,” Horyeong mumbled. “And why do you guys keep reassuring me about this Jae I guy anyways?”

“What part of you giving Jae I death glares do you not- nevermind,” Donghwi muttered. “Beat up Jae I for all I care, you won’t be that different from Haneul anyways.”

Horyeong raised an eye at him as he swiped his card on the machine, leaving the line to go sit alone. 

As he sat down, he looked at the table again, but this time not paying attention to the guy that was infatuated with his brother, but a so called person who apparently went by the name Donghwi. 

  
  


***

  
  


_ Stop Changing the Group Chat Name _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ Hello _

_ Horyeong are you there _

_ I know it’s you lunch idiot _

_ I hate my real name _

_ I bet he got a boyfriend now and they hooking up instead _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ FOR THE LAST TIME _

_ I WAS NOT HOOKING UP WITH WOOJIN _

_ I WAS HELPING HIM WITH AN ASSIGNMENT _

_ I hate my real name _

_ No you were hooking up with him  _

_ Pretty sure _

_ Hey Horyeong where the fuck are you man we miss you _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ Zeth why do I even bother with you _

_ I’m not calling you Zeth anymore I’m calling you Jaemin _

_ I hate my real name _

_ YOU KNOW I HATE THAT NAME _

_ DO YOU NOT REMEMBER HOW I WAS BULLIED IN ELEMENTARY _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ They just called you the second Jaemin _

_ Because there was already a Jaemin, Na Jaemin _

_ I hate my real name _

_ MAN FUCK THAT HOE I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT HIM _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ But Na Jaemin is really sweet! _

_ Also wtf took you so long Horyeong _

_ I hate my real name _

_ Like I said _

_ He was probably hooking up with someone _

_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ Why do I even bother with you people _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> their mv is about to come out im so excited


	7. Snacks? I'm the Snack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW IM FUCKING LATE, THERES BEEN A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON IN MY LIFE IM SO SORRY, I PROMISE IM TRYING HARDER TO UPDATE SOONER

The weekend thankfully came, and that meant a Saturday where Horyeong and Daun could wake up and be lazy as fuck. 

In their little makeshift room in the basement, there were no windows, so there weren’t any annoying rays of sunshine shining through their room. By the time Horyeong actually woke up, it was still pitch black in the room. He only woke up because he left the ringer of his phone on and Seulchan and Zeth started flooding the group chat with messages about the best type of soup. 

Horyeong didn’t have breakfast until noon after fucking around on his phone for an hour, when he trudged his way up the stairs into the kitchen to find the house empty and no one able to judge his sleeping habits. 

He grabbed a box of cereal and went back down the stairs, turning on the flashlight of his phone to see as he was too lazy to bother turning on the lamp. Unfortunately, his laziness cost him, as he accidentally tripped on a pair of shoes he wore yesterday and fell on the ground, flattening his cereal box. 

Horyeong groaned, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek, when he heard some shuffling on the bed; he must have accidentally woken up his brother. 

“Are you awake?” he asked Daun, who was now slowly sitting up from the bed, as far as Horyeong could tell. The room was still dark after all, so he couldn’t see if Daun’s eyes were opened or not. “It’s like noon.”

Daun let out a yawn, and Horyeong still didn’t know if he was looking at him or not. “Time is a construct,” he said, before lying back down on the bed. 

“Pfft, only you would know, mister look at me, I’m taking physics,” Horyeong mocked him, heading back to his bed with his phone and cereal box. “Oh, but your favorite class is engineering right now, isn’t it?”

Daun sat up from his bed again, and  _ now  _ Horyeong was sure he was looking straight at him. “Why do you sound mad?” he asked, confused. “My favorite class is psychology, idiot.”

“I’m not mad,” Horyeong said too quickly. He opened the cereal box and took out a handful, stuffing it in his mouth. 

“Whatever you say,” Daun muttered, yawning again. “Shit, you said it was noon? Why are you just now eating cereal?”

Horyeong shrugged, grabbing another handful as he watched Daun get up from his bed. “Zeth and Seulchan were arguing in the chat again,” he said. 

A sudden brightness enveloped the room, causing Horyeong to shut his eyes for a few seconds out of reflex. Daun must have turned on the lamp. “When are Zeth and Seulchan  _ not  _ arguing,” Daun muttered before trudging his way to Horyeong, opening his palm. “Give me some, I’m hungry."

“ _ Someone  _ doesn’t know their magic words,” Horyeong said, while shaking some of the cereal onto Daun’s palm. “We should probably make something later, I’m hungry."

“ _ We? _ Sorry, sir, but I’m not moving from my bed at all today,” Daun said, throwing himself back onto his bed. “I have a marathon to watch.”

“Streaming every Girl’s Generation music video in existence is not a ‘marathon’” Horyeong scolded him. 

Daun raised an eye. “Shut the fuck up,” he said, taking out his phone. “If you want to drag my ass somewhere, you're going to have to do that yourself.”

***

“Someone looks like their ass was dragged here,” Dongin said to Donghwi at the ice cream shop that Saturday. 

It was 2 PM, prime time where people were getting in the mood for ice cream, which meant Haneul was stuck working in the ice cream shop.

Obviously, this meant that the rest of the friendship crew went along. 

Donghwi looked at the person who just entered the ice cream shop. “Isn’t that Daun, the guy Jae I has been hanging out with?” he asked. 

Dongin nodded. “Yeah, that’s- holy shit, you’re right.” He leaned forward to take Jae I’s ice cream bowl, the latter having been in an aggressive discussion with Baekgyeol about whether February should have 30 days. “Dude, you’re boyfriend’s here.”

Jae I’s eyes turned wide. “I- I don’t have a boyfriend, haha, who told you that?” he said, looking around when he got an even more surprised look. “Oh my god, it’s the love of my life-”

Uiyeon sighed, even though he wasn’t paying attention to any of them; he had been focused on watching Haneul the entire time. “The love of my life,” he said, repeating Jae I’s words.

“I can’t believe you guys have gotten more disgusting than Dongin and Hwalchan over here,” Baekgyeol said, pointing at the two. Hwalchan hadn’t been speaking, focused on doing his homework, while Dongin and Donghwi were just chilling. “And they're the only couple."

“I don’t have to be sappy in public to show my affection towards Dongin,” Hwalchan said, not looking up from his notebook; he had been writing some terms. “Now leave me alone, I don’t like being compared.”   
  


Dongin set his hand on the table, inching it closer to Hwalchan. “Can I… can I grab your hand, though?” he asked, pouting.

“Dongin, I’m right-handed,” Hwalchan said, turning the page of his textbook and continuing to write (with his right hand, of course.) 

“Dammit,” Dongin mumbled, choosing to steal Uiyeon’s cookies instead, the latter still making heart eyes at Haneul. 

Well, now he wasn’t the only one, Donghwi noticed, as Jae I was now looking intently at Daun who just entered the store, his brother behind him. He looked like he had been in bed all day, his hair all messy. 

“Can I have a big ass bowl of ice cream?” Daun asked Haneul. “What’s the biggest one you got-”

“I  _ told  _ you ice cream for breakfast isn’t healthy,” his brother scolded him. 

“I’ll have oreos in it, and oreo is a cookie and it’s close to granola,” Daun torted back to him. 

“Our biggest bowl has five scoops,” Haneul said. “So you can pick any if you want. We can also add toppings."

“Sweet, I’ll take it,” Daun said, scooting over to the display case to look at the flavors. “I’ll have oreo, raspberry cheesecake, mocha espresso-”

Hearing all those flavors was making Donghwi hungry again, so he stole one of the cookies that Dongin had in his hands (which haven’t been his anyways.) “I’m so fucking hungry,” Donghwi complained. “Are we heading to the pasta place later as planned?”

“Hold on, I need to hatch up a plan,” Jae I said, grabbing Hwalchan’s notebook and ripping out a page before handing it back to him. “Thanks, Hwalchan, I love you.”

“You didn’t even ask me for it,” Hwalchan said, not even looking up as he continued writing terms.

Donghwi rolled his eyes. “Jae I, you don’t even have a pen.”

“I know that, give me a second-”

Hwalchan grabbed his pencil pouch and took out a pencil to hand to Jae I before the latter could steal any more of his stuff. “You better give it back, it’s one of my favorites.”

“You are  _ literally  _ the dumbest person I have ever heard of,” Baekgyeol said, getting ignored by Jae I who was hastily scribbling some stuff down. “Jae I, get a  _ grip,  _ por favor-”

“He’s not the only one you should be telling that,” Dongin muttered, pointing at a star-struck Uiyeon beside him. “I’m starting to wonder if he’s dead.”

Hwalchan looked up from his notebook, staring straight in front of him, only to look back down again. “Daun is coming over here,” he said nonchalantly.

“Daun is WHAT-” Jae I screamed, turning around to indeed see Daun a mere three feet away from him. “Oh, hey, Daun, haha, weird bumping into you here! What are you here for, anyways?”

Daun, who was holding his freshly made ice cream bowl (you had to admit, Haneul worked fast), swallowed a bite he had already taken of his dessert before responding. “I heard my name being mentioned,” he answered calmly, shrugging. “Figured you wanted to say hi or something. And  _ literally  _ what other reason would I come here for other than ice cream?”

“Um, well, uh- Haneul also sells nachos,” Jae I stammered, scratching the back of his neck. “But, uh- yeah, he puts a shit ton of jalapenos and you always end up crying when you finish eating them.”

“No, you’re just a wimp,” Baekgyeol said, interrupting their conversation. “Daun, you know how awful he handles his spicy food-”

“Baekgyeol, you’re not really contributing anything to the conversation,” Dongin said, grabbing Hwalchan’s textbook momentarily to smack Baekgyeol. 

“Well, it’s  _ true- _ ”

“I was going to ask you to sit with us but clearly we need to get out of here before he murders us,” Jae I suggested, getting up from his seat. “You have no idea what that guy is capable of-”

Hwalchan closed his notebook, sighing. He forgot how he can never get anything accomplished with them. “You guys are too chaotic.”

“No, you should sit with us, ignore that devil,” Dongin said to Daun. “Jae I mentioned an assignment you guys had in your engineering class?”

Daun grimaced. “Oh god, the assignment, I haven’t even started,” he said, setting his bowl down in front of him. “Me and my brother haven’t done anything all day- wait a minute-” Daun looked behind him to see his brother still standing next to the counter. “Horyeong, what are you doing?”

Horyeong shrugged, pointing towards the back. “I think the guy’s brother had some boxes fall on him or something."

“No wonder Uiyeon’s now pouting,” Baekgyeol said, poking Uiyeon’s neck.

Donghwi sighed, getting up from his seat. “I’ll go get Haneul,” he said. “Hyogi must have worn his heelys again.”   
  


He leaned over the counter as the group now forgot about Hyogi’s mishap and were trying to coax Daun. “Haneul! What the hell happened?”

Him and Horyeong, who was still waiting for his ice cream order, both heard Haneul yell back. “Hyogi’s covered in chocolate syrup! We’re good!”

Donghwi took out another twenty and set it on the register before stealing a cookie from the counter. “That Hyogi, what a stubborn brother. If  _ I  _ thought that you or Baekgyeol gave mean glares, they’re  _ nothing  _ compared to what those two give each other.”

Horyeong could almost physically feel a light bulb go off in his head. “You're the one who insisted that I was glaring at his friend.”

Donghwi shrugged. “You technically were, although, to be fair, everyone glares at Jae I,” he admitted, looking back to the group where Daun was now sitting at the table with them while Jae I looked like he was about to pass out. “Oh, shit-”

Haneul came out of the back room, his cheeks and arms smeared with chocolate syrup. “I think Hyogi planned it, not gonna lie,” he said, rubbing off some of the chocolate on his cheek only to get it on his hand. “Because  _ now  _ he’s going back home to shower and I just  _ know  _ he’s not going to come back.”

“Sounds like Hyogi all right,” Donghwi said, taking a bite of the cookie he got. “On a Saturday, no less.”

Haneul grabbed the napkin roll he had next to the register and ripped a piece. “There went my plans for today.”

“Wait, didn’t you say your parents run this place?” Horyeong piped up. “Why do I never see them here?”

“Pfft, they’re only here while Hyogi and I are at school,” Haneul said. He tried to wipe the chocolate off but all it did was get stuck to his arm. “That’s fucking nasty.”

“You’re going to have to wash those with water,” Donghwi pointed out. “Or else you’ll look like a chicken.”

“Ha! Like Jae I over there,” Haneul said, pointing at the group. “He’s going to faint from embarrassment, I just know- hold on, when’s the last time he dated someone? Poor dude’s awkward as hell.”

“Yep, just like you and  _ someone  _ I know,” Donghwi muttered, stealing another cookie. “I’m not surprised.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL HEARD RUN AND IN SUMMER???? GOOD BOPS I TELL YOU


	8. It's Not A Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DONGHWI ENLISTED IN REAL LIFE :( WE'LL WAIT FOR YOU

Monday, as always, came around, so that meant another new week at school. 

It was, thankfully, the last period of the day, so Daun headed his way to his engineering class, hoodie pulled over his head as he weaved his way through the busy always, groups of people staggered everywhere, blocking his way. 

Even though this school was way smaller than their old school in Seoul, it was still always noisy and busy, way too much for his liking. Not that it was the teenagers fault; they had friends they wanted to talk to and hang out with. Daun? None. 

His earbuds were in, but no music was playing when he reached his engineering classroom and headed towards the back towards his seat, immediately setting his bag on the desk carefully as he looked around the classroom, waiting for it to fill up. 

A familiar face entered the classroom door, and his eyes met with Daun as he rushed towards the back where he was, sliding into a seat next to Daun. 

“Hey, how was your weekend?” Jae I asked, throwing his bag underneath his desk before resting his hands over the table. “Did you have fun?”

Daun shrugged. He was really lazy Saturday and Sunday, only eating junk food and doing homework. “I guess,” he said. “Didn’t really go out except when I got that ice cream.”

“Yeah, you got to admit, Hanuel has some mad good ice cream,” Jae I said, grinning. “Yah, it’s why we always hang out there, that and because we don’t want him to be lonely.”

The bell rang in the school, signaling that class has now officially started. However, the teacher continued talking outside of the classroom to another teacher, so they probably still had another minute to talk before class  _ actually  _ started. 

“I don’t know why his parents force him to work there,” Daun said. “I mean, why can’t they hire any other employees?”

Jae I sighed. “They are just  _ very  _ stingy with money so they don’t want to use any.”

Daun frowned. “Wait, stingy? They don’t even pay your friend?”

“I mean-” Jae I had his hand out, mouth open for a few seconds, trying to think. “No, I don’t believe so,” he said. “Nah, not really. He has a really small allowance.”

“Damn, that’s- that’s kind of pathetic,” Daun said. “I mean, I can’t say anything because I don’t know about him or his family life, but without the right context, to me that sounds wrong.”

“I know,” Jae I said. “And trust me, we all know. That’s why we spend all our time though, but I wonder if it makes him feel worse. I don’t know-”

The teacher entered the classroom and greeted them, cutting their conversation short, leaving Daun alone with his thoughts with this particular group of friends.

***

“So  _ I  _ was thinking we can try out this new game on the Nintendo Switch,” Dongin said, holding up a new game cartridge in his hand. “I’ve read tons of good reviews about it during math class.”

School had just ended, and the group was splitting up; Baekgyeol got grounded Sunday and couldn’t hang out with them, Jae I was still nowhere to be seen (probably talking to Daun again), Hanuel had to work, and Uiyeon was  _ stalking  _ Haneul at work.

“Sounds good,” Donghwi said, trying to think who in their friend group was missing. “Hey, where’s Hwalchan? Do you want to invite him to come to my house and hang out with us?”

Dongin shook his head. “He’s staying after school to be at the library doing his homework,  _ but _ !” He grabbed Donghwi’s shoulders. “You  _ got  _ to help me, I’m taking him to another fancy date Friday and I’m  _ scared _ -”

“He’s  _ literally  _ your boyfriend,” Donghwi reminded him. 

“But it’s a fancy dinner!” Dongin exclaimed. “I don’t know anything about rich people etiquette!” 

“Olive Garden is  _ not  _ rich people etiquette!” Donghwi shouted back at him. “And calm down, just try your best to look presentable and he’ll be impressed, you know Hwalchan doesn’t care about looks or fashion.”

Dongin groaned, shaking Donghwi’s shoulders aggressively. “I’m going to look  _ so _ bad-”

“Aren’t you inviting him to pizza tomorrow for the two of you to study together?” Donghwi asked him. “And can we hurry up, I need to see my dogs.”

“Oh, shit, I forgot all about  _ Kevin! _ ” Dongin exclaimed. “I love him! And Helicopter, though he’s been giving me these weird dog glares recently-”

“Uh, hey-” they turned around to see a familiar person behind them. “Do you guys know where your friend Jae I is?”

Oh, right, it was the brother of Daun, the guy that Jae I was in love with. Horyeong, if Donghwi remembered correctly. The guy who glared too much. 

“I haven’t seen Jae I, if I’m honest,” Dongin said, hands up as if to say “oh well”. “We’re not doing anything after school today, which is probably why.” 

Donghwi nodded. “Yeah, he gets distracted often,” he explained to Horyeong. “Doesn’t he have class with your brother, too?”

“Hwi, he might be one of those  _ overprotective  _ types, you might not want to say that,” Dongin whispered to him. 

Horyeong just sigh. “No it’s just- we just walk home after school, so I wanted to look for him.”   
  


Donghwi made an ‘oh’ face. “Huh. Well, if Jae I  _ is  _ talking to him, they’re probably around his engineering class, I think they take it together,” he said, pointing down the hallway. “Haven’t seen him, though.”

“I figured,” Horyeong said, talking out his phone for what Donghwi presumed to be texting his brother. “Thanks anyways.”

“Man, I always thought Jae I was the type to rapidly run out of school once it ended, not staying there any longer,” Dongin said, laughing. “The things we do for love.”

“If an adult heard you, they would laugh while drinking their third glass of wine in an hour while going through the midst of a divorce, their sad child crying in their room alone while their best friend makes a stupid joke through Kakao,” Donghwi said, lifting up his backpack higher. “Let’s go, I guess.”

“Wait, hold on,” Dongin said. “Do you want to invite him to come play with us? I don’t think he has friends here.”

Donghwi looked at Horyeong, who had walked away from them, typing furiously on his phone. “If you want,” he said, shrugging. “At least he can stop thinking about murdering Jae I for a couple of minutes.”   
  


  
*** 

So that was how Donghwi found Horyeong in his house. 

Horyeong had refused at first, saying that he wanted to wait for Daun, but  _ then  _ Daun sent him a text saying that Jae I wanted to walk him home, and Horyeong not wanting to be creepy and be the type of guy to follow his brother and potential love interest home, decided to take up Donghwi and Dongin’s offer and play Nintendo. 

Donghwi was in his kitchen, serving lunch for his two dogs, Kevin and Helicopter, while Dongin set up the game in the living room. A bit late, he might add; for five whole minutes, they wouldn’t stop circling around Horyeong. “They seem like they’re having fun.”

“Oh, please, you know Kevin loves me,” Dongin shouted from the living room, putting in the game cartridge. “Yes, let’s get this thing going, baby!” 

“That’s what he said,” Donghwi said, laughing to himself two seconds later when he realized the joke he made. “Oh,  _ god _ -”

“Did you just say what I  _ think  _ you said??” Dongin screamed. “DONGHWI-”

“I can  _ assure  _ you, it’s probably Baekgyeol’s fault!” Donghwi shouted back, giving one last scratch behind Helicopter’s ears before washing his hands real quick in the kitchen sink. “Are you going to hurry up and tell me what snack you want?”

“My boyfriend,” Dongin said, sighing as he sat down on the couch, a few feet from Horyeong, who had only spoken like two words since they got here. “Oh, shit, you’re not homophobic, right-”

“Everytime we meet him, we talk about Jae I’s crush on his brother. I can  _ assure  _ you, he would have said something by now,” Donghwi reminded him, grabbing a bag of pretzels and cheese dip with him in the living room. “Unless that’s why he glares at Jae I.”

Horyeong frowned. “I don’t glare at him.”

“Yeah, and you’re not glaring at me right now,” Donghwi retorted back, sitting on the floor in front of the television. “Don’t make me record you one of these days.”

“Isn’t that illegal, recording people without their permission?” Dongin asked. 

Donghwi shrugged. “I don’t know, but I know trespassing is and Baekgyeol does it all the time.”   
  


Dongin grabbed his control and turned on the television, navigating through the Switch main screen. “So we can try this game out and then go back to Mario Kart thirty minutes later when we’re bored,” he said, extending his palm out towards Donghwi. “Excuse me, sir, my pretzel?”

“I hate being best friends with you,” Donghwi said, throwing one at him, startling him. “I feel taken advantage of.”

At that moment, Kevin marched his way towards Donghwi, standing right in front of him, blocking the television screen. He kept wagging his tail excitedly, licking Donghwi’s face. 

Donghwi whistled at him. “Yo! Kevin! Dongin put on a game!” he said, patting on the ground next to him. “Here, Kevin, here boy!” 

“Ha! Kevin won’t listen to you today!” Dongin shouted excitedly. “Yo, Donghwi, tell Horyeong over here the name of the other dog.”

Horyeong tilted his head, confused. “Hold on, what’s wrong with your other dog?”

“ _ Nothing  _ is wrong with my dog,” Donghwi said, giving Dongin a look, the latter now choosing to ignore him. “Dongin just hates how I named him-”

“The other dog is named Helicopter!” Dongin exclaimed proudly. 

“I tell you every day, HIS FAVORITE PLUSHIE AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER WAS A HELICOPTER!”

Horyeong covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. “I’m sorry, you named your dog  _ helicopter _ ?”

“Is there a  _ problem _ ?” Donghwi asked. “No, because he’s my dog and I love him. Dongin over there can suck it.”

“I can suck one of those pretzels in your hand that you still  _ refuse  _ to give to me-”

Donghwi threw another pretzel at him in response. “Shut up.”

Horyeong shrugged. “I’ve never had pets before,” he said. “So I don’t really know how they’re like.”

“Small apartment or strict parents?” Dongin asked him. “It’s always one of those two responses.”

Horyeong nodded. “Yeah, small apartment. It was kind of cramped in there sometimes, we would have  _ never had _ room for a dog.”

Donghwi grabbed the bag of pretzels and extended it out to Dongin, the latter snatching it up gleefully. “Yeah, I want another pet, but my father thinks I’m irresponsible yet he forgets my birthday every year, but yet he can list you all the meetings he has planned for the next month and what time.”

Horyeong frowned. “Oh, geez, that’s-”

“Yeah, it’s a bullshit excuse, but I can’t really say anything about it,” Donghwi said, scratching the back of Helicopter’s ear, the dog wagging his tail excitedly. “But I love you, Helicopter, don’t I?” he said in a high-pitched voice.

“Helicopter is a good boy and no one can change our opinions,” Dongin said, splitting his controller in his and handing one end of it to Horyeong. “Here, let’s play,” he said. “I’m going to beat  _ everyone’s  _ ass in this room.”   
  
  
***

“Uiyeon, this is the third ice cream cone you have ordered in twenty minutes,” Haneul said, handing Uiyeon his change back. “I can’t  _ afford  _ you dying.”

Uiyeon shook his hand. “Nah, I’m not going to die,” he said, leaning his arms against the counter as he watched Haneul scoop up his ice cream. “I’m just craving something sweet right now.”

“Well, these cravings are  _ not  _ good for you,” Haneul said, handing Uiyeon his newly-purchased ice cream cone. “We’re gonna have to start hitting up the gym at this rate if we don’t want your sugar intake to go up.”

“I am  _ perfectly  _ fine with my sugar intake going up,” Uiyeon said, licking his ice cream cone while staring at Haneul. 

Haneul sighed. “Uiyeon, go sit down, there’s customers here waiting for their order.”

Uiyeon pouted. “They always have to ruin my plans,” he muttered under his breath. 

“What plans? Uiyeon, stop playing games, I  _ know  _ you haven’t started your project for your science class.”   
  


“School is a joke and you know it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no plans for this fic ngl, there's no real plot. it's like that for most of my stories but at least they have plot *cries* probs gonna have 25 chaps tho


	9. Roasts and Meltings

“I think,” Jae I said during lunch the next day. “That I-“

“Are in Love with a capital L, yes, we get it, so is half of everyone at this table,” Baekgyeol said, exasperated. “Can’t you guys talk about anything else?”

“Maybe we should talk about the donut theory of the universe,” Hwalchan suggested, only half paying attention to the conversation. He had one hand flipping the pages of his book, and the other holding onto Dongin.

“Good idea, I can always eat a donut,” Dongin agreed with his boyfriend.

Jae I pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, Baekgyeol, I was not talking about being in love.”

“Woah, a day without your rambling about Daun?” Baekgyeol asked sarcastically. “I’m all ears-“

“I  _ will  _ whoop your ass one of these days,” Uiyeon said, scooping another forkful of his chicken to pass to Haneul. “Here you go, best friend.”

“Try me, bitch-“

“Jae I, ignore him,” Donghwi said, bored. “Let’s  _ not  _ waste another lunch period arguing.”

“Why not? Where’s the fun in that?” Dongin asked him. “God knows Baekgyeol needs a good roast now and then-“

“HEY!”

“ _ I  _ think,” Jae I repeated again, making sure that the table could hear him. “That I am going to have a mid-life crisis this weekend and you guys are all invited.”

Haneul shook his head, still chewing on the piece of chicken that Uiyeon fed him. “Working.”

“God damn it,  _ again?! _ ” Uiyeon yelled at him. “Working?! Can’t your parents let you do something else?”

“Make Hyogi do it for once in his life,” Dongin told him. “Come on, why do  _ you  _ have to sacrifice your high school years?”

“My parents think I don’t have a life,” Haneul said with a bored expression. This was a common topic of discussion in their friend group at least once a week and yet nothing ever changed. “So why sit around in my house when I could be doing something ‘productive’. You guys should know this by now.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Uiyeon muttered.

“We can still have an existential crisis at the ice cream parlour,” Donghwi suggested. “Over ice cream.”

“I’m  _ broke _ , I can’t afford ice cream!” Baekgyeol yelled at him. 

“Gyeol, you  _ do  _ know the correct way is to say  _ can you please buy me some?” _ Dongin scolded him.

“I’m not asking him to buy me ice cream, I’m not that heartless and rude!” Baekgyeol screamed. “Only to Jae I!”

“I’m being nice enough to invite you to my ongoing crisis,” Jae I reminded him. He crossed his arms across his chest, pouting. “You’re not invited anymore.”

“Good, cause I’m  _ broke _ -“

“Can you guys  _ not  _ hang out there anymore, thanks,” Haneul said, interrupting them. He pushed away Uiyeon’s hand, who was still trying to feed him. “Uiyeon, I got my  _ own  _ food.”

Uiyeon poured as well. “But you’re my best friend.”

Dongin took a sip of his water with his free hand, rolling his eyes at the two who soon delved into their own little conversation. “Those two make me so mad,” he whispered to Donghwi.

Donghwi, who picked up a small piece of chicken, merely shrugged. “Like you and Hwalchan were any better,” he said, popping the chicken into his mouth. 

“Excuse me, who’s actually  _ dating  _ him, though?” Dongin reminded him. “Exactly, I’m not always stupid.”

Hwalchan, who had been seated on the other side of Dongin, closed his book when Jae I and Baekgyeol started screaming at each other again; he  _ never  _ got anything done during lunch. “I’m glad you asked me, though,” he whispered softly to Dongin, not wanting the others to hear. 

Dongin grinned. He knew Hwalchan didn’t like to be affectionate in public, so it must be a great deal if he was saying it during lunch. “Me too,” he said. “Speaking of which, Hwalchan, you’re good at math, who do you bet will ask the other out first. 

“Uiyeon,” Hwalchan said, leaning his head on Dongin’s shoulder. “From my past observations on Haneul, he buries everything and it’s highly unlikely he won’t do the same to Uiyeon, so if they were to date, Uiyeon would ask him.”

“I have no idea what you said but I agree,” Donghwi said. “But all I know is that those two are stupid.”

“Pfft, mood,” Dongin said. “But, I think everyone in this table is stupid, that’s what makes us such great guys.”

***

  
  


After school, Horyeong did the usual of waiting for Daun at his locker, but when he took out his phone to pass the time, he saw how the group chat was spammed with over fifty messages. 

_ What the hell are those two arguing about this time,  _ Horyeong thought to himself as he opened the groupchat.

  
  
  


_ Everything is made of Chrome _

  
  


_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ Statistically speaking, the magnetic poles should be switching soon and the Earth will enter another ice age _

_ I hate my real name _

_ So we’re fucked _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ In essence  _

_ Yes  _

_ Fuck Ice Cream  _

_ What the hell are you guys up to right now  _

  
  


“Hey, Horyeong, right?”

As soon as he heard his name, Horyeong looked up from his phone to see Dongin talking to him, his friend Donghwi right next to him, the two that invited him to play Nintendo switch yesterday.

“Yep, that’s me,” Horyeong agreed. “You metaphorically kicked my ass yesterday.”

“Oh, I kick everyone’s ass,” Dongin explained. “Especially Baekgyeol’s, that loveable bitch deserves it.”

“You let Hwalchan win, though,” Donghwi pointed out.

“Despite me being his boyfriend,” Dongin argues, “and as much as I would  _ love  _ to be able to lose on purpose, I don’t not let him win. He has mph and trajectories calculated and all that shit in his head.”

“ _ Someone  _ sounds like a sore loser,” Horyeong said.

Donghwi rolled his eyes, smiling. “Yeah, he’s a sore loser when someone beats him-“

“I am  _ not  _ a sore loser!” Dongin interjected, causing his best friend to laugh. “What?! It’s  _ true! _ ”

“No, you’re a sore loser,” Donghwi said again. “Sore, sore loser-“

“I am  _ not _ ,” Dongin repeated. “I am really proud of my boyfriend beating my ass during Mario Kart and I don’t deserve to be made fun of for it.”

As the two continued to argue amongst themselves, Horyeong look at his screen again to see what response his friends from back in Seoul responded with. 

_ I’m dating a different Woojin  _

_ Contemplating life  _

_ I hate my real name  _

_ Mood _

“You’re glaring again.” Horyeong looked up and saw Donghwi staring at him, lifting up his backstrap up higher. “I’m telling you, this is a consistent thing with you.”

“Donghwi, this is how you make public enemies,” Dongin scolding him. “Wait until you’ve known them for a year until you point out their flaws.”

This Donghwi guy had an obsession with him glaring, Horyeong thought. “No, it’s fine,” he told them. “I’m texting my friends from back home and they’re idiots, so I’ll believe you this time.”

“So he  _ isn’t  _ completely blinded,” Donghwi said. “But if it bothers you, I’m sorry for attacking you about it. I just- I hate people glaring.”

“However, we are immune to our friends glaring at each other,” Dongin said, wrapping his arm around Donghwi. “Speaking of which, we’re heading over to the ice cream parlour after school, you should come hang. I’m pretty sure Jae I invited your brother too.”

“Daun’s pretty cool,” Donghwi mumbled. “I just feel bad for Haneul.”

“Haneul is… the guy who works there, right?” Horyeong asked, turning off his phone. The last thing he wanted to read was his two friends get into another existential crisis this week. “Doesn’t he have a younger brother-“

“Hyogi who is the literal devil,” Dongin finished for him. “Though I don’t blame him, it’s probably how their parents raised them.”

“At least their parents raised them, though,” Donghwi muttered under his breath.”

Dongin turned to look at him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Hm? Nothing and we should probably head to the ice cream parlour,” Donghwi said quickly, getting out of Dongin’s grasp. “You, get your boyfriend,” he said at Dongin, and then to Horyeong “-and you, your brother, no doubt Jae I is hanging off of him and I’m buying Jae I his ice cream.”

“And what are  _ you  _ going to get?” Dongin asked him rhetorically.

Donghwi crossed his arm over his chest. “Whatever little bit of patience and dignity I have left,” he answered. “And I also need to give my history teacher my project, I forgot to hand it to him earlier.”

“Haha, good luck!” Dongin said. “You’re gonna need it.”

“Not funny.”

***

And so, this is how nine great guys found themselves at the ice cream parlour after school.

Daun and Horyeong day next to each other, despite each having been invited by different sets of people, as they were still not used to the closeness of the group.

“How was your intro to engineering class,” Horyeong asked him, taking another bite of his plain, normal chocolate ice cream. Damn everyone’s need to be unique. “The one with Jae I.”

Daun scooped up some more of his five-scoop sundae and gave him a glare. “Why are you so concerned with him, again?”

“I am  _ not,”  _ Horyeong reiterated. “I am trying to make conversation with you.”

“Mhm, okay,” Daun drawled our, scooping up some more ice cream, pointing it at Horyeong. “Then pick a different topic of conversation, if that’s all you’re interested in.”

Horyeong took out his phone with his free hand, opening the group chat with his friends again. They were on a different type of crack.

  
  


_ Everything is made of Chrome _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin  _

_ I’m not R E A D Y you nimwit  _

_ I’m not fucking anyone! _

  
  


_ I hate my real name  _

_ Lies  _

_ You and your woojin gave each other a look!!  _

Huh. That was odd. Seulchan didn’t trust men in the slightest and had a hard time opening up to people. There was  _ no  _ way he would have already slept with his boyfriend.

Plus, they were the type to tell each other everything, or in Horyeong’s case, almost everything; he hasn’t exactly been vocal with them about a lot of stuff since coming to Jeju.

He sent a quick reply to the chat. “Do you think I hide stuff?” he told his brother, changing the conversation like Daun asked. “Be honest.”

Daun raised an eye. “What brought you up to that?”

  
  
  


_ Fuck Ice Cream _

_ Hold on, you’re dating Park Woojin right? _

_ I’m dating a different Woojin _

_ Read my fucking username pal _

  
  


Classic Seulchan. 

Daun leaned over to see Horyeong’s screen, where he could see the chat. “What did your friends say to you this time?”

Horyeong quickly turned off his phone again, setting it face down on the table as he took another bite of his ice cream. “Nothing.”

“O _ kay _ ,” Daun said, staring at his spoon. “But I  _ do  _ think you’re more reserved-”

“Do you think I glare too much?” Horyeong interrupted him. “Be honest.”

“Are you having a meltdown?” Daun said. “Tell me if you're having a meltdown like last year.”

“I’m not having a meltdown,” Horyeong told him. “I am merely panicking. There is a difference.”

“You’re melting like that ice cream cone in your hands,” Daun said, pointing at his cone. “Horyeong. Come on-”

“SO! DAUN!” Baekgyeol came and slapped the back of Jae I’s head, who was seated on the other side of Daun. “Scoot over, hoe, I want to sit with him.”

“You were  _ perfectly  _ fine with Dongin over there beating your ass in whatever game you were playing,” Jae I said. 

“He was  _ not  _ beating my ass!!” Baekgyeol yelled at him. “He’s a loser-”

“He’s a  _ sore  _ loser,” Donghwi, who was next to Horyeong, said. “But not a loser.”

“Out of all the games that you guys played, Dongin won around 90 percent of them,” Hwalchan added, not looking up from the book he was reading. “So I wouldn’t call him a loser.”

“You’re his  _ boyfriend, _ ” Baekgyeol pointed out. “And you’re not even looking at the screen, how do you know which games he’s won or not?”

Hwalchan closed his book and made eye contact with Baekgyeol, titling his head. “It’s an approximation from everytime I heard you complain about him winning,” he explained. “And Dongin being my  _ boyfriend  _ doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on him in a video game.”

“Oh, he exposed your lying ass!” Uiyeon yelled, having eavesdropped the end of the conversation. He had been busy with Jae I trying to make the biggest tower out of water bottles. “Hwalchan, continue roasting him!” 

“If I weren’t broke, I would pay mad money for him to keep going,” Jae I agreed. “Hwalchan, how did you end up with some like Dongin?”

“Shut the fuck up, you stupid ass crying hoe,” Dongin interrupted him. “And you  _ should  _ pay him! He’s smart and Baekgyeol deserves a good roast!” 

At that moment, Haneul appeared right next to the table, still in his work uniform. “Did I hear Baekgyeol getting roasted by Hwalchan?!” he exclaimed rapidly. “Someone pay Hwalchan to do it again!” 

“Why do you guys keep mentioning paying?” Hwalchan said, puzzled. “I just told Baekgyeol the truth-”

“You- Hwalchan, I hate you,” Baekgyeol pouted, crossing his arms. 

“You guys are on crack,” Daun said under his breath. 

Jae I, though, heard it. “See, Baekgyeol, Daun thinks your stupid.”

“I- don’t put words in my mouth!” Daun yelled, whacking Jae I with his spoon. “You’re going to pay for that!"

During the middle of the whole commotion, Horyeong turned on his phone again to see the group chat. Zeth had moved past the conversation of Seulchan fucking and was now arguing of whether or not the Earth will be able to replenish its natural sources after the extinction of humanity.

“Are you okay?” Horyeong looked up to see Donghwi, who had been next to him, looking at him. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Horyeong shrugged. “What- what do you mean?”

Donghwi sighed. “I heard your conversation with your brother and I heard your glaring comment,” he said. “I’m not stupid.”

“I- don’t worry about it,” Horyeong said. “I just hope it’s not a…  _ defining characteristic  _ or something.”

Donghwi shook his head, crossing his arms over the table. “No, it’s not,” he said. “You have other  _ defining characteristics  _ anyways. I just really hate people glaring.”

“Why, is there always someone glaring at you or something?” Horyeong asked him. “I didn’t take you to have a mortal sworn enemy or something of the sort.”

“I- pfft,” Donghwi said, rolling his eyes. “No, dude, it’s just my dad who glares all the time, I am a high school student, I don’t have time for ‘mortal sworn enemies’.”

Horyeong looked over at the table again, where Baekgyeol held up a full water bottle and was pointing it threatening at Hwalchan, with Dongin yelling at him to stop whining like a bitch. “No, but it looks like your friends do.”

“Ah, yes, friends,” Donghwi muttered. “The price of having friends.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you guys wanted me to write for a nugu group or underrated one, which one will you guys like? i was think of trying out a chatfic for a group! 
> 
> also great guys i love you and yet i STILL Dont have a bias yet


	10. Italian

Friday morning, Donghwi woke up around 5 am without his alarm and couldn’t go back to sleep. 

He stayed in bed for a little while after checking the time, staring at the ceiling when he realized he wasn’t going to dream again for today. He didn’t know how long he had been laying there like that, probably forever, but when he realized that his alarm still had yet to ring, worrying him, he turned over to look at his phone and-

5:04 AM. 

Man, how much Donghwi hated life. 

Sighing, Donghwi threw off his covers, laying there on his bed without his blankets, thinking if it would be a good idea to skip school or not. It was pretty early in the year for him to already start missing classes, but on the plus side, it will mean his dad will get a call from the school and actually talk (more like criticize) Donghwi for five minutes for once. 

What would he do if he skipped school, though? He couldn’t even go back to sleep.

Donghwi sat up on his bed, rubbing his eyes. It was still dark outside and he had his curtains covering the window, so it’s not like he was blinded, but it was still goddamn five am; Donghwi had accidently gone to sleep past midnight, so he had only gotten less than five hours of sleep. 

Last night, him and Dongin had been hanging around in his room, doing nothing in particular after finishing their homework. Dongin, as always, was very reluctant to leave, and Donghwi didn’t want to be alone in the house again, so he stayed and kept him company. 

The good thing was that today they were all planning to go to the forest to where the treehouse was for Jae I’s official existential crisis. For no particular reason, everyone was planning on bringing in pasta, to name the gathering quote unquote I’m Gonna Pastaway. Baekgyeol came up with the title and consequently got hit by Uiyeon. 

But yes. Donghwi wasn’t in the mood to eat much, but they liked his cooking, which he thought was pathetic (he had to teach it to himself, after all), so he settled on making baked stuffed ziti, which he planned on making after school. Dongin had told him yesterday that he wanted to make gigantic spicy Mexican meatballs and pouted when Donghwi told him that wasn’t really pasta, so now Dongin was going to make a basic ass spaghetti to go along with it. 

Since he couldn’t go back to sleep, Donghwi figured he might as well do some homework now so that he doesn’t have to do anything later. Sure, it was Friday, but assignments tend to pile up really fast; ask any high school procrastinator. 

_ Maybe I’ll just start baking that baked ziti,  _ he thought to himself as he got out of bed. 

***   
  


During lunch, Horyeong was in line, grabbing a bowl of pork belly when he heard someone talk to him behind him. “Yo, dude.”

Horyeong turned around and saw Dongin and his friend Donghwi getting in line, watching them grab trays. “Oh, hey,” he aid, not knowing what else to say to the two friends.

Dongin stood behind him, looking at the food options. “Oh, god, there’s no variety at this school.”

“Just grab the bulgogi and move on with life,” Donghwi said behind him, grabbing a bowl of the bulgogi. “We’re having pasta later, anyways.”

“Oh, that reminds me, Horyeong, dude, you should come pasta with us after school,” Dongin suggested, grabbing the bulgogi in anger. “Jesus christ, not even ox bone soup? What is  _ wrong  _ with this place?”

“Considering Hwalchan’s petition is still under review, I’m not even surprised,” Donghwi mumbled, grabbing a bowl of rice. 

Horyeong frowned. “Wait, pasta? What do you mean?”

“Oh, yeah, Jae I decided he wanted pasta for his existential crisis,” Dongin explained. “I think- actually, no, he’s not going to invite Daun, right? Since he’ll look pathetic?”

Donghwi shrugged. “I think he’s the same as always, but I’m pretty sure if he doesn’t, then Baekgyeol will. Baekgyeol will  _ gladly  _ invite a thousand more people if that means more food options.”

“I think Baekgyeol is going to kill him at this rate.”

“No, he’s not, he’s like a son to Jae I-”

Horyeong greeting the lunch lady cashier as he swiped his school ID on the card reader, which was already loaded with some money to pay for his lunch meals the next week. “Thank you,” he said quietly to her, bowing down a little as he left the line, food in his hands. 

“-he is  _ not  _ the most likely to go to jail for murder,” Dongin said. 

Instantly, Horyeong turned around to look at him, eyes widening.  _ How  _ in their world did their conversation lead to murder??

“I’m sorry, are you talking about  _ murdering  _ someone?” Horyeong asked in disbelief.

Dongin shook his head. “No.  _ I’m  _ saying Baekgyeol would most likely  _ commit  _ a murder. Donghwi here says no.”

“Because Baekgyeol would no doubt be filled with intense hatred with someone who wronged him but forget about it two seconds later when Haneul has cotton candy and he wants a piece,” Donghwi reminded him. “And that’s already happened twice.”

“Why would he murder someone at the amusement park, that’s where you’re wrong,” Dongin pointed out to his best friend. “I still think he would-”

“I’ll remember not to cross him,” Horyeong whispered to himself, wondering if any of them  _ had  _ committed a murder. Surely  _ one  _ of them was bound to hide a secret like that, right?

Dongin finished paying for his food and stepped out of the line, standing next to Horyeong as they waited for Donghwi. “Nah, you’re good, I think he’s fond of your brother, definitely thinks he’s cooler than the rest of us.”

“That is oddly comforting,” Horyeong said. “But Daun doesn’t believe in the whole cool stigma.”

“The whole  _ what  _ now- Donghwi!” Dongin shouted at his friend who also got out of line. “I forgot to get strawberry milk.”

Donghwi, holding the tray in his hands, glared at him. He had two bottles of strawberry milk on his tray. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

Dongin exaggerated a pout. “Can you get me some?”

“Just have them,” Donghwi said, walking away as he headed towards their table. “Just make something other than boring freaking spaghetti.”

“Ex _ cuse  _ me, I am making MEXICAN MEATBALLS!” Dongin yelled at him, running after him. “YOU KNOW THEY ARE THE BEST!”

“THAT’S NEITHER ITALIAN NOR PASTA, DONGIN!”

***

And so, the two brothers were invited to Daun’s admirer’s existential crisis party, titled I’m Gonna Pastaway, as named by the potential murderer Baekgyeol.

It was going to take place in this so-called forest a few hours after school at the designated time seven pm, giving them plenty of time to argue about what pasta they should bring. 

“I just say we take a bowl of macaroni and cheese and be done with it,” Horyeong, two boxes of elbow in front of him that he raided from the pantry. “It’s fast, it’s easy and there’s possibly no way you can mess it up.”

“Yeah, remember when you added sour cream instead of nacho cheese?” Daun reminded him. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Forgive  _ me  _ for grabbing the wrong tub,” he said, sighing. “I don’t want to make your stuffed shells, they sound too complicated.”

“You literally just  _ stuff  _ it,” Daun pointed out. “That’s it. That’s  _ all  _ you do. You’re acting like I’m making you milk a cow.”

“Well, at this rate in Jeju, I’m pretty sure mom and dad are going to ask us to milk one,” Horyeong said, rolling his eyes. “Why do you care about making a fancy dish, anyways? I thought you just hung out with Jae I for the free food.”

Daun opened the box of shell pasta that he had taken out, giving Horyeong a glare. “You’re making me sound like a gold digger.”

“I am  _ not  _ saying that- don’t open that-” Horyeong leaned over the counter, pushing the box away from his brother. “How dare you.”

“Look, do you want to do rock paper scissors for this?” Daun exclaimed. “We’ve already wasted ten minutes doing nothing, and I’m meeting Jae I early before we head to the forest, I don’t have time for this-”

“And  _ why  _ are you meeting Jae I early?” Horyeong asked him. “Isn’t this his existential crisis party anyways?”

“‘Party’ and ‘existential crisis’ do not belong in the same sentence together,” Daun muttered under his breath. “And we’re meeting because we want to review our homework, together, idiot, why are you acting like I’m gonna suck him off or something?”

“Well, at this rate you will!” Horyeong yelled at him, opening the elbow macaroni box. He opened the flap incorrectly, only peeling the top part of the flap, so there was the thin cardboard layer covering the opening. “Dammit.”

“E-excuse me?” Daun said. “I’m not- I don’t even see him- you know what, do your fucking macaroni.” He threw his box of pasta on the counter and bent down to pick up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. “Have fun at the existential crisis party-”

“Wait, where are  _ you  _ going?” Horyeong said, watching Daun leave the kitchen. “Daun, why are you getting offended- DAUN!”

Daun turned around. “You know what’s getting me offended?” He said, crossing his arms over his chest. “First of all, Horyeong, you need to drop this whole being protective of your younger brother act, it’s getting  _ really  _ suffocating-”

“I am  _ not  _ being overprotective,” Horyeong argued. “You’re exaggerating-”

“I think you suddenly asking why I’m hanging out with certain people and criticizing me for it falls under that category, Horyeong, for your information,” Daun said. “I told you once and I’m  _ telling  _ you again: I  _ don’t  _ have feelings for him- actually, it shouldn’t even matter if I like him or not.”

Horyeong opened his mouth, ready to say something, only to close it again. He couldn’t think of what to say. 

He wasn’t overprotective, right? He wasn’t like those older brothers in the movies who prevented anyone seeing their younger sibling, stalking them everywhere to make sure they weren’t alone, and making them tell them everything, right? That is  _ not  _ what he was trying to be. 

“I’m not being overprotective,” Horyeong finally said. “I’m- I’m sorry, Daun, I’m just- well, I don’t know, you used to tell me everything and now I feel like you’re hiding me stuff.”

“I’m not  _ hiding  _ anything,” Daun repeated. “And, you know, maybe there’s stuff I  _ don’t  _ want to tell you.”

Daun turned around, opening the door to the basement where their room was when Horyeong called after him. “What do your stuffed shells need?”

***

“Can you, like, calm done,” Haneul told Jae I, who was hitting his head on the tree. “ _ Respira, idiota. _ ”

Baekgyeol squinted his eyes at Haneul. “Why the fuck are you speaking Spanish?”

“It’s  _ not  _ Spanish, it’s Italian,” Haneul corrected him. “Remember? I’m Gonna Pastaway?”

Hwalchan, who was carrying a pot with chicken noodle soup, set it down on the floor so that he can take his phone out of his pocket. “It’s both Spanish and Italian,” he explained. “Since they’re both romance languages, it’s no wonder it sounds really similar-”

“Wait, why are you telling Jae I to calm down when it’s his existential crisis party?” Dongin asked him. “Isn’t him getting worked up over nothing the whole point?”

“When  _ doesn’t  _ he get worked up over something,” Haneul muttered under his breath. “JAE I!”

Jae I had slumped against the tree, hiding his face behind his hands. “Don’t look at me, I’m pathetic,” he whined, letting out a sniffle.

“Finally, some advice I can get behind,” Baekgyeol said, sitting down on the grass. “This day couldn’t get any better than Jae I admitting he’s pathetic.”

For a few seconds, Jae I took his hands off his face so that he could look at the group. “I was going to meet Daun early but he said he was going to come late.”

“Well, at least you know he’s coming,” Haneul mumbled. “ _ Where  _ the fuck is Uiyeon?”

“ _ Someone  _ is anxious for their dick appointment,” Baekgyeol said.

Since Haneul had a tray of lasagna, he opted to kick Baekgyeol’s shin instead, the latter yelping in pain. “Don’t say that shit out loud!”

“We’re still missing Donghwi and the two brothers as well,” Dongin pointed out to the group.

“Shut up, Mr. I Get Laid,” Baekgyeol said.

Hwalchan started choking, clutching his phone hard in his hands until his knuckles turned white. 

Dongin’s face turned red. “Even if I were fucking Hwalchan, I wouldn’t tell you anything about it! You’re just jealous, you- you virgin.”

“Wait, you guys haven’t slept with each other yet?” Haneul asked, carrying his tray of lasagna with one hand; it was burning his arm. “Really?”

“I am  _ really  _ uncomfortable with where this conversation is heading!” Hwalchan yelled at them, picking up his pot of chicken soup before walking down the path, heading towards the tree house deeper into the words. 

Dongin sighed. “Only you would be interested in talking about your friends’ sex lives.”

“No one is interested in  _ anything _ ,” Baekgyeol said. “Don’t think too highly about yourself-”

“OH, SHIT, HE’S HERE!” Jae I screamed, standing up rapidly. From the distance, he could see Daun and Horyeong heading towards them, with Horyeong carrying an aluminum tray in his hands. “DO I LOOK GOOD?!”

_ “No, brutto culo _ ,” Haneul muttered, either in Spanish or Italian, who knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> donghwi's bday came up and they celebrated it *cries*


End file.
